Jerusalem(AsiaNews) – This morning Israeli president Moshe Katsav invited Syrian president Bashar Assad to come to Jerusalem.

Speaking on the official radio station, Katsav said: "I invite the Syrian president to come to Jerusalem to meet the country's leaders and to take part in serious discussions." 

The role of the president in Israel is largely ceremonial and with limited political power. Still, Katsav stressed: " I am the president and have the authority to invite foreign presidents to come to Israel."

However, according to Radio Israel, Damascus has already rejected his invitation, defining it to be the fruit of "Israeli propaganda". The news was confirmed by the Arab Al-Jazeera broadcasting network.

Katsav's invitation follows statements made by prime minister Ariel Sharon, according to whom Israel is "ready and willing to negotiate" with Syria provided that Damascus stops its "help to terrorism". Yet, according to Radio Israel, yesterday Sharon already told the cabinet of ministers that Israel must not "hurry to respond to Syrian openness, since Damascus is still a supporter of terrorism." Israel sustains that Iran sends arms to the Lebanese Hezbollah via Syria. 

Peace talks between Syria and Israel were interrupted in Jan. 2000 after Israel's refusal to withdraw from Golan Heights, which it occupied in 1967.

In an interview appearing in the New York Times last December, Assad expressed his desire to resume talks with Israel without any pre-conditions. Sharon replied that discussions must "re-begin from scratch", without bearing in mind previous talks.

Syria finds itself under pressure by the Bush Administration, which considers it a country supporting some terrorist groups. Lately, Damascus asked to transform the entire Middle East (including Israel) into a nuclear arms-free zone. The reference to 200 Israeli nuclear warheads is obvious.  

Meanwhile, Israeli and Syrian newspapers continue to be the only channels for discussion between the two countries.

Today the official Syrian daily, Tishrin, criticized Sharon's conditions, defining them as "inadmissible". According to a Tishrin columnist, Sharon wants to take up talks again from scratch, thereby cancelling his predecessors' policy and results reached after 10 years of discussions which resolved 80% of the points of dissent." The Israeli daily, Ma'ariv, reports of a Turkish government letter addressed to Ariel Sharon in which it is said that Assad is willing to give up the shore of Lake Tiberiade claimed by Syria.    

Today the Lebanese daily, As-Safir, published an interview with Ahmad Hassan, Syria's minister of information, who denied the "lack of foundation" for rumors of secret talks between Damascus and Tel Aviv held 7-8 months ago. Yesterday it was the Israeli foreign minister, Silvan Shalom, who spoke about the existence of "secret discussions". (PB)

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