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Photo: Kobi Gideon
Peres with Richardson on Sunday
Photo: Kobi Gideon

Peres: If Assad is serious – let him meet with Olmert

President calls for direct Israeli-Syrian talks as necessity if both sides genuinely interested in forging trust. 'Had Sadat not come to Jerusalem, we would not have had peace with Egypt,' said Peres

"If the Syrians are genuinely seeking peace, then they must hold a summit meeting between Syrian President Bashar Assad and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert," President Shimon Peres said on Sunday in a meeting with New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson. The two met at Peres' official residence in Jerusalem.

 

Such a meeting could take place either in Jerusalem or Damascus, said Peres, but it is an absolute necessity to break the psychological barrier and build trust between both sides.

 

"'Had Sadat not come to Jerusalem, we would not have had peace with Egypt," said Peres, recalling then-Egyptian President Anwar Sadat's historic visit to Israel in 1977.


'If Sadat hadn't come, there wouldn't be peace'

 

Peres further noted that the current president's late father, Hafez Assad, refused to set a meeting with him in 1996. He did, however, give his principle consent to such a meeting through then-US Secretary of State Warren Christopher, who acted as mediator.

 

Meanwhile the indirect talks between the Israeli and Syrian delegations are continuing in Ankara. A possible meeting between Assad and Olmert at the upcoming Middle East conference in Paris will be on the agenda. The conference, organized by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, is scheduled to be held on July 13th.

 

Both heads of state have been invited by Sarkozy, though Jerusalem officials doubt the conditions have ripened for such a meeting to take place.

 

Olmert has reportedly expressed his willingness to attend the Paris conference, though Damascus has yet to confirm Assad's intentions.

 

Sarkozy himself dispatched two envoys to Syria on Sunday, and they are expected to return with Assad's answer in the coming days.

 


פרסום ראשון: 06.15.08, 22:42
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