Syria refuses conditions on talks with Israel

DAMASCUS, June 12 (Reuters) Syria is ready to negotiate peace with Israel but refuses conditions on the talks, Deputy Foreign Minister Ahmad Arnous said today.

''Syria is prepared to resume talks, without any conditions, according to the land-for-peace principle and to achieve stability and security in the region,'' Arnous said in the first official reaction to an Israeli offer for talks.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has made clear Israel is willing to withdraw from the Golan Heights, captured by the Jewish state in a 1967 war, but has demanded in return that Syria cut ties with Iran, Hezbollah and Palestinian militant groups.

Arnous, speaking to reporters after he met Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyanni, would not be drawn on whether Syria had sent a response to Israel on its peace offer through any of the numerous diplomats or foreign officials who have visited Damascus recently.

But he emphasised Syria's eagerness to strike a deal that returns the Golan Heights, captured by Israel from Syria in 1967.

''President Bashar al-Assad has been frank and clear about Syria's willingness to resume negotiations according to the Madrid principles and international resolutions,'' Arnous said.

Syria is still technically at war with Israel despite sporadic peace talks, which opened in Madrid in 1991. The talks broke off in January 2000 without resolving the fate of the Golan Heights, a mountainous plateau overlooking Damascus.

REUTERS GT BST2320