JERUSALEM — Israeli officials said Sunday that indirect peace talks between Israel and Syria have resumed, with Turkish mediation.
The officials, who are close to the talks, said two top aides to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert were in Ankara, Turkey, for the talks, as was a Syrian delegation. Turkish officials were shuttling between them.
Israel and Syria are bitter enemies. Previous peace talks broke down in 2000.
Last month, the three countries involved announced that the indirect contacts have been going on for months. No results have been made public.
Israeli President Shimon Peres said Sunday that Israeli and Syrian leaders should meet, recalling the groundbreaking visit by Egypt’s then-President Anwar Sadat to Jerusalem in 1977 that triggered a process leading to a peace treaty.
“If the Syrians really want peace, they must agree to a summit meeting between the Syrian president and the Israeli prime minister,” Peres told visiting New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, according to a statement from Peres’ office.
The Associated Press
