Israel, Syria engage in indirect peace talks

JERUSALEM — Israel and Syria unexpectedly announced Wednesday the resumption of peace talks after an eight-year break, saying they have been speaking indirectly through Turkish mediators "in order to achieve the goal of comprehensive peace."

The longtime adversaries each have something to gain from the dialogue. Israel wants to reduce Syrian support for anti-Israel militants in Gaza and Lebanon, while Syria is eager to improve ties with the U.S. and end its international isolation.

But many obstacles, including a skeptical Israeli public opposed to ceding the strategic Golan Heights to Syria, a scandal-plagued Israeli prime minister and Syria's providing a home base for radical militant groups, will make it difficult to reach a deal.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Syrian President Bashar Assad both recently confirmed their countries had exchanged messages. But Wednesday's announcement, in identical statements issued minutes apart by Israel, Syria and Turkey, was the first official confirmation peace talks were underway.

"Syria and Israel have started indirect peace talks under the auspices of Turkey," the statement said. It said the two enemies "have declared their intent to conduct these talks in good faith and with an open mind," with a goal of reaching a comprehensive peace.

Noticeably absent from the announcement was the U.S., the traditional power broker in the region. White House spokeswoman Dana Perino suggested the United States was informed in advance but was not participating.

"We were not surprised by it and we do not object to it," she said. "We hope that this is a forum to address various concerns we all have with Syria, Syria's support of terrorism, repression of its own people."

President Bush has accused Syria of sheltering terrorists and supporting insurgents in Iraq, and he criticizes Damascus for backing of Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon and Palestinian militants.

In an address Wednesday evening, Olmert said the contacts with Syria had been underway for more than a year and noted that previous Israeli leaders were prepared to make "painful concessions" for peace with Syria. Those efforts, by then-prime ministers Yitzhak Rabin and Ehud Barak, failed.

"It is always better to talk than to shoot," Olmert said, "and I'm happy the two sides have decided to talk," though he predicted difficult negotiations.

An Israeli government official said Olmert's chief of staff and diplomatic adviser have been in Turkey since Monday. Israel's Channel 10 TV showed them returning home Wednesday evening.

"Their Syrian counterparts are in Turkey as well," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the contacts. He declined to discuss the substance of the talks.

Turkey's NTV television said the Israeli and Syrian delegations were in Istanbul but were not meeting directly.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan, speaking to reporters during a visit to Bulgaria, said the start of indirect contacts was "an important development" and urged journalists not to be "impatient" concerning details of the meetings.

"These talks will continue indirectly in the period ahead," the Turkish state-run Anatolia news agency quoted him as saying, refusing to say where the talks are taking place.

Israel and Syria are bitter enemies whose attempts at reaching peace have failed in the past, most recently in 2000.

 

Facts about disputed Golan Heights

The territorial dispute between Israel and Syria centers on the Golan Heights. Here are facts about the territory:

* LOCATION: Plateau on the southwestern corner of Syria overlooking Sea of Galilee and northern Israel.

* SIZE: At 485 square miles, the Golan Heights is roughly one-third the size of Rhode Island.

* HISTORY: Syrian soldiers shelled northern Israel from the Golan Heights between 1948 and 1967. Israel captured the territory in the 1967 Mideast war. Israel annexed it in 1981, but no country recognized that.

* POPULATION: Most of the 100,000 Syrian residents of the Golan Heights fled during the 1967 war and were not allowed to return. About 17,000 remain, most of them members of the Druse sect, an offshoot of Islam. A few have accepted Israeli citizenship, but most retain Syrian nationality. About 18,000 Israelis live in 32 settlements built since 1967.

* DISPUTE: In 2000, Israel-Syria peace talks broke down. Israel offered to withdraw from all the Golan Heights down to the international border in exchange for full peace. Syria insisted on recovering land across the border that it captured in 1948, including the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. Israel demanded full control of the Sea of Galilee, a main source of fresh water, and was not satisfied with Syria's peace proposals.

* WARS: Syria fought in three wars against Israel in 1948, 1967 and 1973. Syrian forces battled Israel when it invaded Lebanon in 1982. Damascus backs the Lebanese militia Hezbollah that fought a monthlong war with Israel in 2006. Syria is a close ally of Iran, a bitter enemy of Israel that has threatened to wipe it off the map. Israeli warplanes carried out an attack on Syria last September, targeting an installation the U.S. has said was an unfinished nuclear reactor built by North Korea.

* MILITANTS: Syria provides a safe haven for various militant groups fighting Israel, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which have their headquarters in the capital, Damascus. In February 2007, a top Hezbollah commander was assassinated in the Syrian capital in an attack widely assumed to have been engineered by Israel.