Official: Peace with Syria in Israel's interests

"Peace with Syria is in Israel's interests, on the condition that Damascus is cut off from the axis of evil," a senior Israeli official said Sunday, following reports on Turkish mediators' plans to bring Israeli and Syrian representatives together in an effort to advance the peace process.

However, the official stressed that negotiations could take time and required patience, and that while the Turkish channel betweenIsrael and Syria did exist, expectations regarding the issue should be kept realistic.

"If Syria breaks away from the axis of evil, if the transfer of arms to Hizbullah is halted and if Jihad and Hamas bases are removed from Damascus – this will constitute progress, and not all this talk and decelerations," he stated.

According to the official, "If Israel will be required to pay the price in question, namely ceding the Golan Heights, without getting anything in return – then we have gained nothing."

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister's Office refused to comment on reports from Ankara that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's Chief of Staff Yoram Turbowicz relayed a letter to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan several weeks ago which conveyed Israel's willingness to relinquish the Golan.

Erdogan met with Syrian President Bashar Assad to discuss the renewal of talks between Damascus and Jerusalem. "Syria is willing to continue cooperating with Turkey in any way that will lend security and stability to the region," Assad said ahead of the meeting.