Syria and Israel confirm ongoing indirect talks through Turkish mediator

Israel and Syria yesterday said they were holding indirect peace talks through Turkish mediators — the first official confirmation of contacts.

In statements issued minutes apart, the two governments said they “have declared their intent to conduct these talks in good faith and with an open mind,” with a goal of reaching “a comprehensive peace.”

Both nations thanked Turkey for its help, and Turkey issued its own confirmation. Muslim Turkey has good ties with both Israel and Syria.

There have been reports in recent months of new Israeli-Syrian contacts through Turkey, whose foreign minister said earlier this month that his country was trying to bring the sides together. But this was the first official confirmation that contacts have resumed.

An Israeli government official said Olmert’s chief of staff and diplomatic adviser have been in Turkey since Monday. “In parallel their Syrian counterparts are in Turkey as well,” the official said. He declined to discuss the substance of the talks.

Israel and Syria are bitter enemies whose attempts at reaching peace have repeatedly failed, most recently in 2000. The nations have fought three wars, and have also clashed in Lebanon.

Peace with Syria would require Israel to withdraw from the Golan Heights, a strategic plateau Israel captured in the 1967 Mid-east war and later annexed. Today, the heights are home to 18,000 Israelis and roughly the same number of Druse Arabs who regard themselves as Syrian. Syrian and Israeli forces are separated by UN peacekeepers.

Meanwhile, Lebanon’s feuding factions reached a breakthrough deal yesterday that ends the country’s 18-month political stalemate, but also gives the militant Hezbollah group and its allies veto over any government decision.

The deal, reached with the help of Arab mediators, was immediately praised by Iran and Syria, which back Hezbollah. But it will add to fears in the West over Hezbollah’s new power.

Pro-government politician and parliament majority leader, Saad Hariri, seemed to acknowledge his side had largely caved in, spurred by a sharp outbreak of violence earlier this month after months of stalemate.

“I know that the wounds are deep and my injury is deep, but we only have each other to build Lebanon,” he said after the announcement of the deal, brokered after five days of talks in Qatar.

Hezbollah’s negotiator, Mohammed Raad, downplayed the group’s win: “Neither side got all it demanded, but (the agreement) is a good balance between all parties’ demands.”

The Bush administration seemed to be trying to put the best face on the deal even though it gave more power to Hezbollah. Assistant Secretary of State David Welch called it “a necessary and positive step.”

The election of a compromise president was expected Sunday, Lebanon’s state news agency reported.