From DEBKAfile: August 25, 2007...
Assad is willing to talk to Olmert without involving Washington - but not to abandon absolute commitment to Tehran
This double message was brought to Jerusalem last week by Edward P. Djerejian
from unpublicized meetings he held in Damascus with president Bashar Assad and Syrian military and intelligence chiefs. This former US ambassador to Israel and Syria reported that Assad is willing to drop his prior conditions for talks with Israel regarding parallel dialogue with Washington and US participation in the peace process. But the Syrian ruler is also utterly committed to the diplomatic and military policies of his senior partner, Tehran.
...DEBKAfile’s sources stress, the Olmert government’s peace expectations of Syria must factor in Assad’s staunch dedication to Iran’s lead on Israel, Palestine, Lebanon and Iraq. His call for peace talks with Israel is well attuned to Tehran’s objective of engaging Washington in direct dialogue on its nuclear program and Iraq, provided that diplomacy does not shift the fundamental positions of either party.
Syrian rulers ... were completely confident they had opted for the winning side in the Middle East instead of the United States and Israel who they regard as the losing camp.
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