SYRIA OFFERS PEACE TALKS

ONE WEEK AFTER THE U.S. STARTED PUSHING FOR A U.N. RESOLUTION AGAINST SYRIA'S OCCUPATION OF LEBANON AND DAYS AFTER ISRAEL WARNED SYRIA TO STOP HARBORING (AND DIRECTING) TERRORISTS, SYRIA HAS PUT OUT PEACE FEELERS WITH ISRAEL. IS THIS A DIVERSIONARY TACTIC OR IS SYRIA SCARED? WE SHALL SEE.

Assad offers peace talks
Syria reportedly offered to resume peace talks with Israel. “I am ready to resume peace talks with Israel, if Israeli Prime Minister Sharon is prepared to do so,” Al-Hayat newspaper this week quoted Syrian President Bashar Assad as telling U.S. officials. Negotiations with Damascus stalled in 2000 over former leader Hafez Assad’s demand for all of the Golan Heights to be returned, including land Syria conquered from Israel in 1948. Jerusalem was cool on the overture by Assad’s son and successor, with officials on Monday calling it a bid by Syria to duck U.S. censure for its backing of terrorists. It was not immediately clear if the current Syrian leader would be willing to soften his country’s territorial demands.

Israel: Talks with Syria are not on the cards
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Tuesday cast doubt on the sincerity of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad's willingness to restart talks with Israel. Speaking exclusively to the Jerusalem Post, Sharon said that if the Syrians' intentions are real "they must dismantle and expel terrorist organizations [based in Syria] and stop funding terrorist groups." Sharon added that Syria had to eliminate the [Iranian] Revolutionary Guards influence on the Hizbullah. "That would show that their statement is not a public relations maneuver, or a result of American pressure. A call for negotiations cannot be done with a declaration, it must be done with actions and that's why negotiations are not currently on the cards," the prime minister added.