Syria's Vice President Abd al-Halim Khaddam
said Damascus was ready to renew peace talks with Israel, but only from the point that the negotiations were last it broke off.
"Americans know at what point the last negotiations broke off and all the related documents of these negotiations are available with them," Khaddam said at a Damascus press conference on Saturday, according to SANA news agency.
By this comment, the Syrian Vice President denied reports released recently following a Damascus meeting between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and US Senator Bill Nelson, according to which Syria was prepared to begin negotiating from scratch.
Nelson, a Democrat Senator from Florida, who met with the Syrian leader last week, said Assad is prepared to resume peace talks with Israel without any preconditions and if Israel insists, from the "starting point".
The Syrian Vice President said his country was steadfast in its demand for the return of all its territory, including the eastern coast of the sea of Galilee. He added that Washington knows exactly where the talks were last cut off. "The problem is not with Arabs, but it is with the Israelis," he concluded. (Albawaba.com)
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
