Olmert: Ball is in Assad's court

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert sent a message to Syrian President Bashar Assad yesterday saying he was still waiting for a Syrian response on the likelihood of renewing negotiations between the two countries.

Olmert met yesterday with U.S. Senator Arlen Specter (Republican-Pennsylvania), who will travel tomorrow for meetings with Assad's government. Specter is a big supporter of resuming dialogue with Damascus.

Much of yesterday's meeting addressed Syria. During the meeting, Specter asked Olmert whether he wanted to further the diplomatic process with Syria. Olmert said that for the past few months he has been appraising whether negotiations could be resumed through mediators.

"I am still evaluating the Syrian track and the degree to which Damascus is serious about [a peace process]," Olmert said. "I have not stopped the assessment, but so far I have not received a clear answer and I am still waiting."

Officials in Jerusalem added yesterday: "Even though Olmert did not ask specifically that his message be relayed to Assad, we assume that it will be raised during [Specter's] talks in Damascus."

Specter also met with Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and discussed Syria.

Livni did not reject the possibility of renewing negotiations with Syria, but said there was a series of issues troubling Israel.

"The Syrians need to show that they are willing to contribute something toward gaining the release of the abducted soldiers in the Gaza Strip and in Lebanon, or express willingness to end the smuggling of weapons to Hezbollah, so that we will know that they are serious," Livni said.

This would "make it easier for us to consider negotiations with them," she added.

According to an annual assessment prepared by the Foreign Ministry's research office and presented to the Knesset Foreign Relations and Defense Committee, "Damascus is interested in a settlement with Israel, but only on its terms and with American involvement."

According to the report, Assad understands that the current American administration is unwilling to negotiate with him on his terms, so he is ready to wait until 2009, when a new president is in the White House.