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Turkey relayed Israeli offer to swap Golan for peace

Says Assad

AFP, Doha
Syrian President Bashar al Assad confirmed in remarks published on Thursday thatTUrkey has relayed a message from Israel expressing a readiness to swap the Golan Heights for peace.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan "informed me of Israel's readiness to withdraw from the Golan in return for peace with Syria." Assad was quoted by the Qatari daily Al -Watan as saying.
In excerpts from an interview to be published in full on Sunday, the paper quoted Assad as saying that Ankara has been mediating between Israel and Syria since April last year. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert assured Erdogan of his readiness to return the Golan, and this was relayed to Syria a week ago, Assad said, confirming reports of Turkish mediation that emerged on Wednesday.
"What we now need is to find common ground through the Turkish mediator," he said, adding that any negotiations with Israel would be conducted via Ankara.
Olmert's spokesman, while withholding direct comment on Assad’s remarks, said Israel wanted peace talks with Syria.
"We have no specific comment on President Assad's statements," Mark Regev told AFP in Jerusalem.
But "Israel wants peace and wants to engage in peace negotia-
tions with Syria. We know what Syria would expect from such negotiations and Syria knows what we would expect."
Israeli Tourism Minister Yitzhak Herzog, a member of the inner security cabinet, said that Israel was in no hurry to give up the Golan, however.
"The Golan is precious to us all and no one is in a hurry to relinquish it... We're not there yet anyway... but the fact that both sides are talking peace is in itself positive, " he told Israeli public radio.
Assad said the first thing that needs to be discussed is "recovery of the land in order to (ascertain) Israeli credibility, because we have to be cautious and precise in discussing this issue."
Assad said Israel was proposing direct talks, but that these need common ground and "a sponsor, which can only be the United Slates, unfortunately."
He said the administration of US President George W. Bush "has neither a vision, nor the will to (push forward) the peace process" but that direct negotiations might become possible under his successor.
Assad said he will discuss the issue with Erdogan when the Turkish prime minister visits Damascus on Saturday.
Assad’s remarks came a day after reports in Syria that Erdogan has assured Damascus that Israel is ready to return all of die Golan Heights in return for peace.