Israel and Syria edging towards direct talks
Published: Wednesday, July 02, 2008
13:41GMT—9:41AM/EST
ISRAEL – SYRIA – TALKS
Washington, 2 July (IranVNC)—Progress in indirect talks between Israel and Syria, the third round of which resumed yesterday, could pave the way for direct negotiations, Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said today, Reuters reports.
“Talks are still at a very early stage,” he said.
The third round of Turkey-mediated indirect talks is due to end on Thursday. Israeli envoys Shalom Turjeman and Yoram Turbowitz headed to Istanbul yesterday where mediators carried each side’s messages back and forth between the separate hotel rooms where the delegations were staying.
The timetable for the direct talks is to be set after the July 13 Mediterranean Union Summit in Paris, which both Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will attend, along with 50 other heads of state. A fourth round of indirect talks will be held in Istanbul before the summit.
Previous peace talks collapsed in 2000 over disagreements about the Golan Heights, occupied by Israel since 1967. On Monday, the Israeli parliament approved the first reading of a bill that could make it harder to return the Golan Heights to Syria. The draft law stipulates that any withdrawal from the Golan region requires a referendum or the support of two-thirds of MPs. It still needs a second and third reading before it becomes law.
Sources: Reuters, BBC News, Jerusalem Post
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