Occupied Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert yesterday ruled out any resumption of peace talks with Syria, which stalled for more than six years, as long as Damascus continues to support "terrorism."
"As long as Syria continues to support terrorism, there is no basis for negotiations," Olmert said. "When Syria stops support for terror, when it stops giving missiles to terror organisations, then we will be happy to negotiate with them," he said.
The premier was speaking one day after Israel announced that Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni had set up a ministerial working group on Syria, seen in the local media as a first step towards the possible renewal of peace talks.
A Syrian legislator downplayed comments by an Israeli cabinet minister yesterday in which he called for a resumption of peace talks, saying Israel said one thing and implemented another.
"Israel's actions contradict its words. If it really wants peace with Syria, it has to endorse openly the land-for-peace principle. Then there would be no problem," Sulaiman Haddad said.
