Syria says it's not seeking war with Israel

Syria is not seeking a military solution for its conflict with Israel and is ready to resume peace talks with the Jewish state, Syria's foreign minister said Wednesday.

"We are not looking for a military solution (with Israel) at all," Foreign Minister Walid Moallem said in an interview with the Dubai-based al-Arabiya satellite channel. "For this reason, we participated in the 1991 (Mideast) peace process in Madrid and engaged in talks with the Israelis for 10 years under US sponsorship."

Referring to the US-sponsored Mideast peace conference held in November in Annapolis, Maryland, which Syria attended, Moallem said, "We went to Annapolis and we are ready to resume peace negotiations on the Syrian track in a way that does not contradict progress on the Palestinian track."

Moallem said he didn't see Bush's Mideast trip as a step forward for the peace process, not even between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

"There is no progress neither on the Palestinian track, nor on the Syrian one," he said.

Moallem criticized the US foreign policy and hit back at Bush's criticism of Assad, saying that the world has lost patience with the US president's policies.

"The USA, under the Bush Administration, has a black and white foreign policy and this is unrealistic," he said. Bush has asked Syria to choose between its alliance with Iran and anti-Israel militant groups, like Hizbullah and Hamas, and its relations with the Western world.

Last month, Bush rejected dialogue with the Syrian leader, saying his "patience ran out on President Assad a long time ago."

Moallem responded, "The world has lost patience with Bush's policies."