Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and visiting US Secretary of
State Condoleeza Rice agreed on Sunday that Syria could attend the
upcoming US-sponsored international Mideast peace conference on
certain conditions, local daily Haaretz reported on its
website.
During a lunch meeting, the two sides agreed that Syria could be
allowed to attend the peace summit if it accepted the fact that the
conference would deal only with Israeli-Palestinian relations but
without the fate of the Golan Heights, a 1,200 square km plateau
captured by Israel from Syria in the 1967 Middle East War.
The statements were made in response to the Syrian foreign
minister's request to Rice on Saturday that the summit should deal
with Israel-Syria issues as well.
Rice is on her eighth visit to Israel this year in an effort to
close gaps between Israel and the Palestinians prior to the peace
conference due to be held in the United States later this year.
Earlier in the day, Rice also met with Israeli Defense Minister
Ehud Barak, who assured her that Israel's economic sanctions on the
Gaza Strip would not cause a humanitarian crisis.
"The sanctions Israel has imposed on civilians and the state
will not cause a humanitarian crisis in the [Gaza] strip," Barak
was quoted as saying to Rice.
On Sunday morning, Rice also held talks with Israeli Foreign
Minister Tzipi Livni, who told her that any diplomatic agreement
will only be implemented after the Palestinians fight terror,
according to a statement released by Israel Government Press
Office.
(Xinhua News Agency November 5, 2007)
