Israeli media reported Tuesday excerpts from Olmert's interview with the pan-Arab Al Arabiya television channel, dubbing it "historic."
"Bashar al-Assad, you know that I am ready for direct negotiations with you," the Jerusalem Post quotes the Israeli prime minister as saying. "You also insist that negotiations only go ahead with American mediation. But the Americans are refusing to mediate."
Al-Assad has repeatedly urged Israel via the media to resume peace negotiations after a seven-year hiatus, focusing on the future of the occupied Golan Heights, but Damascus' "peace overtures" have been invariably snubbed by Israel.
The Israelis have demanded that the Syrians stop supporting the Lebanese based Hezbollah movement and abandon strategic partnership with Iran as a precondition for talks, showing the seriousness of al-Assad's intentions.
