Israel wants more indirect Syria talks

Damascus keen on postponing discussions until after US election, establishment of new gov't in J'lem.

By HERB KEINON
Assad nice 224.88 (photo credit: AP)
Assad nice 224.88
(photo credit: AP)
Israel wants a fifth round of indirect talks with Syria in Turkey, senior diplomatic officials said Wednesday, amid reports that the Syrians would prefer to postpone further negotiations until the spring, after the US election and the establishment of a new government in Jerusalem. The United Arab Emirates newspaper Al-Khaleej on Wednesday quoted Syrian sources saying the indirect talks had run their course, and that a fifth round would not be necessary. The report came a week after Syrian President Bashar Assad spoke of freezing the talks. Last Thursday Assad said they would be postponed because of the resignation of Yoram Turbowicz, the head of the Israeli negotiating team, as Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's chief-of-staff. "The resignation of the chief Israeli negotiator led to the postponement of this round, which would have defined the course of these negotiations," Assad said at the time. Turbowicz, who headed the Israeli delegation, quit his post as Olmert's chief-of-staff in the beginning of August, just after Olmert announced his intention to resign following the Kadima primary. Olmert asked Turbowicz to stay on and continue heading the talks with Syria. The legal aspects of Turbowicz working as a volunteer, or setting up a new framework for him in the Prime Minister's Office, are being dealt with by the attorney-general. A source in the Prime Minister's Office said Wednesday that the matter had still not been resolved. Turkish sources, meanwhile, said Ankara was still trying to fix a date for the negotiations. Last Thursday in Damascus, visiting Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan contradicted Assad's announcement that the talks had been postponed, and said they were set for September 18-19 in Turkey. Neither side, however, has confirmed this date, according to the sources. Diplomatic officials said it was unlikely the negotiations would be held on that date, a day after the Kadima primary, and that the Syrians would want to know whether the Israeli delegation - if Turbowicz was allowed to lead it by then - had the blessing of the next Kadima chairman. Both Livni and Mofaz, the top contenders in the primary, have expressed reservations about pursuing the Syrian track at this time.