Israel and Syria will carry out the next round of Turkey-mediated peace negotiations in the coming weeks, local daily Ha'aretz quoted Turkish and Israeli officials as saying on Friday.
"The two parties agreed to meet regularly. The next round will be in Istanbul in a week or in 10 days," said a Turkish official, while Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev also expected a round of Israeli-Syrian talks in Turkey shortly.
Meanwhile, Israeli Army Radio also quoted a Turkish official assaying that Israel has already shown interest in holding direct negotiations with Damascus, but the Syrians are hesitant.
The official told the radio that he believes a three-way meeting could take place in the upcoming rounds of talks.
Israel and Syria simultaneously announced on Wednesday that they had begun dialogues under Turkey's auspices with a goal of reaching a comprehensive peace, the first confirmation of diplomatic contacts between the two neighbors in eight years.
Peace negotiations between Israel and Syria, which are technically at war, broke off in 2000, when then Israeli Prime Minister and now Defense Minister Ehud Barak refused Syria's request to fully withdraw from the Golan Heights, a strategic plateau Israel seized in 1967 and annexed in 1981.
Following the first round of renewed talks earlier this week, Turkish officials said both sides have understood that any future peace agreement would include Israel's full withdrawal from the Golan Heights and Syria's distancing itself from Iran and militant groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.
Source: Xinhua
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