Israel and the Syrian track

The Israeli radio said on Tuesday that high ranking officials in Syria told the UN secretary general Kofi Anna their readiness to resume negotiations with Israel, immediately. The Israeli radio said this was expressed during Annan's visit to Damascus last week.

An official at the UN conveyed a proposal to the Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak provides for resuming negotiations on the Syrian track immediately without waiting to find out developments on the Palestinian track.

Barak has been studying this proposal which was conveyed to Barak after Annan's return back to Damascus in the last stage of his recent ME tour.

Meantime, a high ranking official at the UN said that the Syrian want to resume talks on the Syrian track, according to acceptable conditions.

The UN official added " our turn is to back the current peace process and to exert all our efforts to facilitate matters."