Dov Weisglass, one of the closest aides and friends of former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, stated Monday that the Sharon government suspected Syrian President Bashar Assad's "intentions for peace" as a transparent attempt to escape the jaws of the United States. He wrote in the Hebrew newspaper Yediot Aharonot that "Sharon did not trust Assad [and] did not believe Assad and doubted the sincerity of his intentions."
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert last week announced that his government is holding indirect talks with Syria through Turkish mediators although he previously has stated that he would not conduct negotiations with Damascus so long as Assad is allied with Iran and backs Hizbullah.
Weisglass added that withdrawing from the Golan Heights, a demand that Syria has made as a condition for direct talks, should be given "serious consideration only if it results in Syria severing its links with Iran and distancing itself from waging local and regional terrorism."