April 05, 2007	Thursday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 16, 1428

DAMASCUS, April 4: US House speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Wednesday she was ready to promote peace between Syria and Israel, after talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad that have drawn White House wrath.

But despite Pelosi saying Israel also wanted talks, the Jewish state quickly issued a string of demands it wanted satisfied over Syria's alleged support of terrorism and close links to Iran before any “real” peace talks could begin.

Syrian officials welcomed the visit, which Assad described as a necessary “dialogue” aimed at “clarifying ... and correcting key issues that are of concern to the two countries and regional security,” SANA news agency said.

Foreign Minister Walid Muallem hailed the “historic” visit and told a news conference Damascus agreed to keep up contacts with the US Congress. “If the US administration wants to join this dialogue we will be satisfied.”

Pelosi, the most senior US official to visit Syria in years, and members of her delegation shrugged off the criticism.

“We were very pleased with the reassurances we received from the president that he was ready to resume the peace process,” Pelosi told reporters after meeting Assad.

“He's ready to engage in negotiations (for) peace with Israel,” she said, adding that she also delivered a message from Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that he was also ready to engage in peace talks with Damascus.

“We expressed our interest in using our good offices in promoting peace between Israel and Syria,” Pelosi said before heading to Saudi Arabia.

Israel was quick to react, spurning Syria's apparent readiness for peace talks frozen since 2000.

“To carry out real peace negotiations Syria must cease its support for terrorism,” said a statement from Olmert's office.

“Syria must moreover cease its support for terrorism in Iraq and its strategic ties with the radical Iranian regime,” it said, without elaborating.

Syrian Information Minister Mohsen Bilal shot back by demanding that “Olmert publicly announce his attachment to a just and comprehensive peace”.

The leading US Democrat said she also raised with Assad and other top Syrian officials her “concern” about alleged support for militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah and infiltrations into Iraq.

Washington slapped economic sanctions on Syria in 2004 over its alleged ties to terrorism and withdrew its ambassador from Damascus after the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri.

A UN probe has implicated Syria officials in the murder despite Damascus' denials.

Syria's Tishrin government daily said it did not expect Pelosi's visit to “remove the black clouds that hang over” US-Syrian ties but nevertheless saw the trip as a positive step.

It cautioned, however, that “dialogue is a two-lane highway ... not a one-way street.”—AFP