Syrian peace overtures false: Israeli PM

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert reiterated his opposition to holding peace talks with Syria, saying that the recent peace proposals made by Syrian President Bashar Assad was just false pretenses, local newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported.

During a joint press conference with visiting Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg in Jerusalem, Olmert renewed his rejection of the peace overtures made by Syria, saying that Israel wanted peace with all its neighbors but it did not accept false pretenses.

"Syria continues to support terror in Iraq, is collaborating with the Iranian President and is sparing no effort to topple the government of (Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad) Siniora," Olmert was quoted as saying.

Referring to future negotiations with the Palestinian side, Olmert expressed his readiness to meet with the Palestinian National Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas as soon as possible.

Dubai-based Al-Arabiya television station reported on Tuesday that German officials brought Olmert a letter from Assad recently, in which the Syrian president offered to renew peace talks without preconditions or time limits. However, both Israel and Syria denied the existence of such a letter.

Source: Xinhua