Israeli President Moshe Katsav invited his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad for peace talks Monday after Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said an accord was only possible if Damascus stopped backing âterrorâ.
| Head of state to head of state invitation... |
âI invite President Assad to come to Jerusalem to seriously negotiate with Israeli leaders on the conditions of a peace accord,â Katsav said on Israeli public radio. âMr Assad will be welcome, but there should be no preconditions,â he added. Sharon said Sunday that he was ready to forge peace with the Syrians but only if they were prepared to show a willingness to bring an end to âterrorismâ.
| That's because "terrorism" has been proven to "kill" people... |
âIsrael is ready and willing to negotiate once Syria stops its help to terror,â he said, referring to Damascusâs backing for militant Palestinian groups, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and the Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah movement. He added that âSyria has been under pressure since the end of the Iraq war ... Syria is suspected of affording cover to terrorism in Iraq and of cooperating with Iran on terrorismâ. Dalia Yitzik, a senior member of the opposition Labour party, hailed the invitation by Katsav as a âcounterbalance to the intransigence of Mr Sharon.â
| Or maybe the good cop stepping in... |
Fellow MP Zeehava Gal-On of the left-wing Meretz party also gave his backing to Katsav âwho has shown a very responsible attitude, in contrast to Mr Sharon who has turned down every opportunity to talk peace.â Katsav as state president has little formal power, but as a member of Sharonâs Likud party he is unlikely to have issued such an invitation without being given the nod of approval by the more hawkish prime minister. |