Time not ripe for talks with Syria: US, Israel
Afp, Washington
The United States and Israel said after high-level talks here Wednesday that the time might not be ripe for the Jewish state to resume peace talks with arch-rival Syria. Washington insists that Syria is not playing a "constructive role" in the Middle East while Israel wants critical peace talks with the Palestinians to be given top priority, officials said. "I don't think you're going to find many indications of Syria showing the rest of the world that they are interested in playing a constructive, positive role in trying to bring about a more peaceful, secure region," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters. McCormack accused Syria of continuing to support terrorist groups in Lebanon and in the Palestinian territories. He also cited Damascus links to Iran, both of which Washington calls "state sponsors of terrorism." He spoke after a meeting Wednesday between US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Israeli Transport Minister Shaul Mofaz, a former defence minister and army chief, ahead of a "strategic" bilateral dialogue between the two allies on Thursday. It also comes ahead of a meeting on June 19 between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and US President George W. Bush in Washington. About a month ago, Rice held an unprecedented meeting with her Syrian counterpart Walid Muallem but emphasized later that Damascus needed to close its Iraq border to foreign fighters and to crack down on Palestinian extremists if it wanted to thaw frosty ties with Washington. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert also has for the moment rejected overtures by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to restart peace talks, saying Damascus first had to stop supporting militant groups like Hezbollah and Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas. Mofaz told reporters after talks with Rice that Israel wanted to give greater priority to building peace with the Palestinians than the Syrians. "Our first priority should be Palestinian discussions," he said repeatedly when asked whether peace efforts would be revived with Syria. It was reported in the Israeli media that Mofaz believed that "the time has come to launch a secret channel with Syria" in order to defuse mounting tensions in the region. Mofaz's Washington trip was also intended to "verify what Syria's objectives would be in eventual peace talks with Israel," a press report had said.
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