Syria rejects demands to cut ties with Iran

Syria's state-run Tishrin says in Saturday’s editorial that any preconditions to a deal would "put the carriage before the horse" and Syria’s relations with other nations were not on the bargaining table. Â

Saturday’s editorial in the paper, which reflects official policy, comes in response to comments two days earlier by Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni that Syria had to stop supporting Hezbollah and Hamas and cut ties with Iran.

Israel and Syria announced on Wednesday a resumption of peace talks under Turkey's auspices after an eight-year break. There is, however, a rocky road ahead in the peace talks despite the resumption of indirect talks as the Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert faces a bribe investigation.

"Damascus does not want preconditions, that would put the cart before the horse ... It does not bargain over its relations with other countries and people, nor would it want to bargain with others over their relations," the editorial stated.

"It goes without saying that impossible conditions cannot facilitate the work of negotiators," added the editorial which likened it to "putting stakes in the wheels" of the peace process. 

The editorial then reconfirmed early statements that the government wants "real peace in the region," stability and prosperity and Syria's objective to regain all of the Golan Heights.

 Israel captured the plateau in the 1967 Middle East war, and many Israelis see it as a valuable buffer against attack. Today the Golan Heights are home to 18,000 Israelis who run thriving wine and tourism industries. Olmert himself vacationed there last month. According to the poll, only 19 percent of Israelis are willing to cede the entire Golan Heights, down from 32 percent a month ago.

Turkish-mediatic negotiations between Israel and Syria are expected to resume in two weeks. According to the Israeli press Israel was already interested in holding direct negotiations with Damascus, but that the Syrians were hesitant.

Israeli Jerusalem Post reported Friday "a professional diplomat with pro-Israel views and an Islamist professor who is Turkey's liaison to Hamas" are the two Turks mediating the talks.

Feridun Sinirlioglu, the diplomat, spent several years as Turkey's ambassador to Israel, and the Turkish foreign policy establishment considers him pro-Israel, the report said.

The second person the paper named is Ahmet Davutoglu, a professor of international relations, was named the prime minister's chief foreign policy advisor. "A man with known Islamist views, Davutoglu orchestrated Turkey's rapprochement with Hamas a few years ago and is still Ankara's liaison to the Hamas leadership in Damascus," the paper said.

It added Sinirlioglu and Davutoglu had visited Israel for several times before the talks started.