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Source: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1257770043813&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull
Israel Ready to Resume Peace Talks with Syria Without Preconditions
[Jerusalem Post] Tovah Lazaroff, Gil Hoffman and Haviv Rettig Gur - Prime Minister Netanyahu told French President Sarkozy on Wednesday he would be happy to resume peace talks with Syria anytime, anywhere and without preconditions, a government source said. As peace talks with the Palestinians have hit a dead end, it has been speculated that Netanyahu is turning to Syria as a more likely negotiating partner. Israel Radio reported that Sarkozy telephoned PA leader Mahmoud Abbas while he was meeting with Netanyahu and asked Abbas to begin negotiations immediately. Regional Development Minister Silvan Shalom said Thursday that the prime minister "is ready to resume the negotiations without preconditions. Without preconditions means that everyone will come and raise their demands. The Syrians will say we want you to withdraw fully to the borders of June 4, 1967, and we can say we would like to keep the Golan in our hands," Shalom told an audience at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. "To say that we will accept from day one their demands, then what do we need the negotiations for?"