Israel ready for 'talks without preconditions'

ISRAEL: Israel is ready to begin talks without preconditions with Syria and the Palestinians, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Monday.

"We have our vision, we don't have any preconditions," Lieberman told reporters in Luxembourg, the day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke for the first time of the possibility of an independent Palestinian state.

"We are open to sit with the Palestinians immediately, we are ready to sit with the Syrians immediately and with other countries the same without any preconditions," Lieberman told reporters after talks with EU officials.

"We think that the solution must be the result of peaceful negotations," the ultra-nationalist foreign minister said. Netanyahu on Sunday endorsed for the first time the creation of a Palestinian state, provided it was demilitarised, after weeks of pressure from Washington.

But Netanyahu also said the Palestinians must recognise the Jewish character of Israel, a condition Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas has long rejected. He also ruled out a halt to all Jewish settlement activity as demanded by the United States, European Union, United Nations and Russia. Lieberman stressed that these points did not constitute a precondition for talks. Syrian state media on Monday slammed Netanyahu for "torpedoing peace" in his speech.

Al-Baath, the mouthpiece of Syria's ruling party, commented: "Netanyahu has confirmed that he rejects the Arab initiative for peace along with all the initiatives and resolutions of the Security Council relative to peace" in the Middle East.

In May Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said his country would only resume peace negotiations with Israel on the basis of a full return of the Golan Heights.

Syria and Israel held four rounds of Turkish-mediated talks last year but discussions were suspended when Israel waged a deadly offensive against the Palestinian Hamas rulers of Gaza Strip in December and January.

EU foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg welcomed Netanyahu's speech as a step forward, while saying it was not enough to warrant a mooted upgrade of ties with the Jewish state.

Asked about continued concerns over Israel's stance Lieberman replied:

"I think we have a right to our position ...," he said. "Regardless of our position we are open to any negotiations." LUXEMBOURG, Wednesday, AFP