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Syrian president says 'crucial' round of Syria-Israel talks postponed

Syrian President Bashar Al Assad on Thursday said a "crucial" round of indirect talks between Syria and Israel has been postponed because an Israeli negotiator has resigned.

  • Agencies
  • Published: 11:32 September 4, 2008
  • Gulf News

  • Assad was speaking at the start of a summit in the Syrian capital to discuss efforts for a peace deal between Syria and Israel.
  • Image Credit: AP

Damascus: A round of indirect talks between Syria and Israel has been postponed, Syrian President Bashar Al Assad said on Thursday.

"There was supposed to be a fifth round, meant to be crucial, I think on Wednesday. The resignation of the chief Israeli negotiator led to the postponement of this round, which would have defined the course of these negotiations," he said.

Assad made it clear that Syria did not want the Turkish-mediated talks to stop but did not say when the next round is expected.

Assad was speaking at the start of a summit in the Syrian capital to discuss efforts for a peace deal between Syria and Israel.

The Syrian leader also warned that Lebanon was still in a fragile state, adding that he was worried that foreign-backed “extremist forces'' were active in Tripoli.

"The situation in Lebanon is still fragile and we are worried about what is happening in north Lebanon, in Tripoli," Assad said.

"Anything positive accomplished in Lebanon will be worthless without a solution to extremism and the Salafist forces that are moving in Lebanon. There are countries that support these forces officially."

He and French President Nicolas Sarkozy joined Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and Qatar's Emir Shaikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani for talks on Lebanon and Syria's talks with Israel.

Western diplomats said Israel could not send a team to the talks in Turkey due to the announcement of the resignation of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, which raised legal issues on how the Jewish state would be represented.

Syria and Israel said earlier this year they were holding indirect talks, months after Israeli warplanes raided a target in eastern Syria that the United States said was a nuclear reactor under construction.

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