Syria rejects Israel talks offer

Assad has said he is ready to resume negotiations with Israel

Syria has dismissed an Israeli proposal to invite President Bashar al-Assad to Jerusalem for peace talks.

The offer came from Israeli President Moshe Katsav, who said he was inviting Mr Assad for serious negotiations.

It was made after Mr Assad said in newspaper interviews that he was ready to resume talks with Israel.

But Syrian Expatriates Minister Buthaina Shaaban said the Israeli proposal was not a serious answer to Mr Assad's peace overtures.

"We need a serious response... A serious response is to say yes, we are interested in peace, we want to negotiate," the Syrian minister told CNN.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said on Sunday that talks could only begin if Syria "stops backing terrorism".

The BBC's Paul Wood in Jerusalem says the issue of talks is dividing the Israeli political establishment.

A number of Israeli ministers have urged the government to respond to Syrian calls for dialogue.

But Mr Sharon told his cabinet on Sunday there was no need to talk to Syria until the reports that Damascus wanted to reopen negotiations were clarified.

Sharon 'threat'

Meanwhile, on Monday the Israeli Parliament backed a statement by Mr Sharon in which he repeated his threat to take unilateral measures guaranteeing Israel's security.

Mr Sharon said the Palestinians must begin complying with their obligations as specified in the internationally-backed peace plan known as the roadmap.

If not, such unspecified measures would be put in force in the Palestinian territories until they "find among themselves the leadership needed in order to resume talks".

"The Palestinians have not taken any step to fight terrorism," he added.

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said that Mr Sharon's statement was a sign that "the only plan he has is for the continuation of walls, occupation and settlements".

Doubts

Israel's president told Israeli radio on Monday: "I invite President Assad to come to Jerusalem to seriously negotiate with Israeli leaders on the conditions of a peace accord."

Mr Katsav added that there were no conditions to his invitation.

"We have our doubts, a lot of doubts, concerning the Syrian president's intentions and motives," he added.

"His motives for launching this initiative were not pure, but I think his proposal should nevertheless be seriously and thoroughly examined."

Israel and Syria are still technically at war: peace talks broke down four years ago over the future of the Golan Heights which were captured from Syria in the 1967 war.

Syria has recently urged the United States to help revive the talks, which at the time were leading Israel to agree to a partial withdrawal from the Golan Heights.

Mr Sharon said on Sunday he believed Syria was still helping agents of the Lebanese group, Hezbollah, which is accused of involvement in attacks on Israel.

It came as Israeli media gave heavy coverage to allegations that a humanitarian relief flight sent by Damascus to the Iranian earthquake returned laden with weapons for Hezbollah.

Conditions

Mr Sharon said when support for such groups stopped, Israel would be ready for negotiations.

"Israel is ready and willing to negotiate once Syria stops its help to terror," he said.

Other conditions include:

• Syrian help for returning missing Israeli soldiers

• Return of the remains of the Israeli spy Eli Cohen for burial

Two leading Israeli cabinet ministers - Finance Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom - have already spoken in favour of resuming talks with Syria.

Mr Netanyahu suggested that Syria was in a weak position and could be pressured into peace without Israel having to give up all of the Golan Heights.

Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz believes Syria's apparent new position is the result of US pressure.

The BBC's Paul Wood says the chief sceptic is Ariel Sharon and no talks will happen without his assent.