Israel's Olmert invites Syrian president to hold direct talks

Jerusalem - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Monday he is willing to hold direct talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad at 'any place' the Syrian leader would like to meet. 'Bashar Assad, you know? I am ready to hold direct negotiations with you,' the premier said in an interview with al-Arabiya television, excerpts of which were broadcast on Israeli television. 'You also know that it's you who insists on speaking to the Americans. The American president says: 'I don't want to stand between Bashar Assad and Ehud Olmert. If you want to talk, sit down and talk',' he said. Assad had 'heard many things from me already,' Olmert said. The last round of Israeli-Syrian peace talks floundered in March 2000, mainly over the extent of an Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights, which Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East War. Syria demands the complete return of the strategic plateau, which overlooks northern Israel, as a prerequisite for peace. © 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur

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Israel's Olmert invites Syrian president to hold direct talks

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