Peres calls for direct, unconditional talks with Syria

Nov 10, 2009, 23:07 GMT

   Brasilia - Israeli President Shimon Peres proposed Tuesday to resume talks with Syria that would be 'direct' and unconditional as he addressed the two chambers of the Brazilian Congress.

'From here, I call upon President Bashar Al Assad: let us launch direct and immediate negotiations, without intermediaries, without conditions, without delays,' Peres said in the first-day of his five- day official visit to Brazil.

The speech marked the first official visit to Brazil by an Israeli president in 43 years.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad late last month said that Damascus was ready to resume indirect talks, but did not mention direct talks.

Ankara last year brokered four rounds of indirect talks between Israel and Syria. The talks were suspended last winter when Israel headed into new elections and launched a deadly and destructive offensive in Gaza against rocket attacks.

Damascus demands a full withdrawal from the Golan Heights, a strategic plateau captured by Israel from Syria in the 1967 Arab- Israeli war.

In Brasilia, Peres spoke of Israel's willingness to attain peace with Palestinians, which he said was more important than territory.

   'Israel acknowledges Palestinians' right to have their own state. Let us pursue peace negotiations till we manage to complete them. Israel is ready to make difficult and painful concessions to make the Palestine state viable and so we can live like good neighbours,' Peres said.

Peres' focus on peace ended when he referred to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who is also set to visit Brazil on November 23. Peres accused Iran of developing nuclear weapons and asked for Brazil's support to achieve peace in the Middle East.

'(The Iranian people were) never our enemy. The Islamic religion is not our enemy. But I cannot ignore this government that is developing nuclear weapons and calls for the destruction of Israel,' Peres said.

In the face of that, he called for 'a voice that is against destruction, a clear voice against terror.'

Peres praised Brazil and the potential for increased cooperation between the two countries, particularly in science and technology.

He called Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva - with whom he was to meet Wednesday - 'a great leader,' and he made it clear that Brazil's cooperation would be welcome to seek peace in the Middle East.

   Lula and Peres are to discuss trade and ways to increase cooperation. Bilateral exchanges were valued at 1.6 billion dollars last year, more than three times the 2002 figure.

They are also likely to tackle the issue of Iran.

   Peres' office said before the start of the trip that 'the Iranian infiltration of the continent' will be a central issue of the Israeli president's stay in Latin America, which is also scheduled to take him to Argentina Sunday.

   Brazil has argued that there is little to be gained from 'isolating' and 'cornering' Iran. Lula's advisers stress that Brazil is a 'reliable mediator' on talks about Iran's nuclear programme and the situation in the Middle East.

   Peres is leading a delegation that includes Israeli Tourism Minister Stats Misezhnikov, 40 Israeli business leaders and senior members of the Israeli defence industry.

   He will travel to Sao Paulo - Brazil's main financial centre - on Thursday for meetings with business leaders and the Jewish community. In Rio de Janeiro on Friday he will be involved in discussions on preparations for the 2014 football World Cup and the 2016 Olympics.