Olmert: Peace treaty with Syria can be achieved

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Thursday evening said "a peace treaty between Israel and Syria is feasible" and would result in "significant advantages" for Israel. "A peace treaty would lower the possibility of war, break the strategic ties between Damascus and Teheran, lead to the expulsion of the Islamic Jihad and Hamas headquarters from Syria and would stop the cash flow to Hizbullah," Olmert told a conference of the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University. On Monday, Olmert is scheduled to meet with the Turkish prime minister in Ankara. Turkey has been mediating the indirect peace talks between Israel and Syria.