Syria says talks with Israel continue despite Olmert's resignation

Aug 6, 2008, 17:09 GMT

Damascus - Syria said Wednesday that its indirect peace talks with Israel are still going on despite Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's impending resignation.

'We will carry on with the talks as long as there is progress, whether Olmert resigns or not,' Buthayna Shaaban, an adviser to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, told reporters, referring to the Turkish-mediated negotiations unveiled last May.

'We are not concerned with whether Olmert resigns or not. This is an internal Israeli issue,' she added.

Olmert announced last week that he will resign over a corruption scandal once his Kadima party elects a new leader in September.

'When the political leadership feels there is enough progress in bilateral talks, and that Syrian rights are guaranteed, we will move to direct talks,' Shaaban said.

Syria has demanded Israel return the Golan Heights before direct negotiations can be held. Israel captured the strategic plateau from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war.

Israel, in turn, wants Syria to distance itself from Iran, the Lebanese movement Hezbollah and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.

Al-Assad met Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan at a Turkish beach resort on Tuesday, days after he met Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Shaaban said that al-Assad's visit to Turkey was to discuss bilateral relations and ways to boost investments.

A fourth round of indirect talks between Israel and Syria took place last week. The fifth round is expected later this month.