Israel, Syria end talks, plan further discussions

ANKARA, Turkey - Israel and Syria yesterday concluded a second round of indirect peace talks mediated by Turkey and agreed to continue the negotiations, though not face-to-face for now, officials said.

Israeli and Turkish officials, who described the two days of talks as positive and constructive, said Israel and Syria agreed on dates for holding a third and fourth round of negotiations, but offered few details.

A senior Israeli government official said the talks would take place in the "coming weeks" and would continue to be conducted through Turkish mediation.

"They have agreed to continue meeting on a permanent basis," the Israeli official said.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry said the meetings would be held regularly.

Israeli officials said the possibility of a meeting between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel and President Bashar al-Assad of Syria was not part of the negotiations, which took place in Turkey in the past two days at an undisclosed location.

Israeli officials offered no other details about the first negotiations between the longtime foes in eight years. There was no immediate comment from Syria.

Earlier yesterday, Israeli political sources said Olmert's envoys, Yoram Turbowicz and Shalom Turjeman, intended to propose that Olmert and Assad meet at a Paris conference next month.

But Olmert's delegation was not optimistic about the chances of Assad agreeing to such a meeting at this stage. An Israeli political source said: "The assessment in Israel is that he [Assad] would first need something concrete in hand."

Olmert and Assad are expected to attend a July 13 summit of a new union of European and Mediterranean countries in Paris.

An Israeli source said President Nicolas Sarkozy of France was trying to arrange a three-way meeting but had not yet received final confirmation from Damascus.

Olmert has offered to meet Assad on the event's sidelines, Israeli political sources said.