PARIS: Israel is ready to restart peace talks with Syria immediately and without conditions, a senior Israeli official said yesterday after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Paris. Following talks in Paris with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, a senior Israeli travelling with the Prime Minister said: "Mr Sarkozy raised the issue of the Syrian track.
"The Prime Minister said he is willing to meet with the Syrian President at any time and anywhere to move on the peace negotiations on the basis of no pre-conditions."
Telephone talks arranged by Turkish mediators between the arch foes were broken off last year during Israel's offensive in Gaza, closing a promising diplomatic channel towards a broader Middle East settlement.
A short statement from Mr Sarkozy's office made no specific mention of Syria, whose President, Bashar al-Assad, is due in Paris today, but said the French and Israeli leaders had discussed ways to restart the peace process.
The statement from Mr Sarkozy's office said the talks had included only the leaders and one senior adviser each.
Earlier, in Damascus, Mr Assad told a meeting of Arab political parties Syria would not "put forward conditions on making peace" but warned that it had "rights that we will not renounce", SANA news agency reported.
The Paris meeting produced no sign of progress on peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
On the eve of the visit, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said a "real political difference" separated Mr Sarkozy and Mr Netanyahu on Israel's continued building of settlements on Palestinian land. "We think that a freeze on settlements -- that's to say, no more colonisation while talks are ongoing -- would be absolutely indispensable," Mr Kouchner said. "We need talks and the peace process to restart."
The Australian
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