Israel pushes for direct talks with Syria "very soon"
By Zerin Elci
ANKARA (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert called on Thursday for quickly starting face-to-face negotiations with Syria after a third round of indirect peace talks mediated by Turkey ended with an agreement to meet again.
“With the Syrians, we are talking seriously and, in my estimation, very soon the negotiations will have to be direct,” Olmert told an economic conference in the southern Israeli resort city of Eilat. “They will not be able to continue in the mode in which they are currently being held.”