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Olmert Departure Likely to Slow Peace Talks

[New York Sun ] Eli Lake - Israeli peace talks with Syria and the Palestinian Arabs will likely stall in the aftermath of Ehud Olmert's decision to step down as prime minister. This is a problem for Secretary of State Rice, who has been pushing for a document detailing progress in Israeli-Palestinian talks. David Makovsky, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, noted, "Basically, Secretary Rice would like a summation document that points to the disagreements and the points of convergence between the two parties. The problem is that no political figures like to expose to the public the concessions they make in the absence of a diplomatic breakthrough....There is not much hope for such an agreed-upon document." On the Syria track, "The key question is, can you peel Syria away from Iran," Makovsky said. "For that to happen, there needs to be a series of conversations...that will require the United States. I don't believe this was ever going anywhere this year. This is a classic 2009 issue."
2008-07-31 01:00:00
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