ANKARA - Israel and Syria have agreed to extend indirect talks under Turkish mediation, Ankara's foreign ministry said Thursday.
"The parties have indicated their shared willingness to pursue negotiations on a regular basis," said a statement which outlined a "constructive and positive atmosphere" at the Istanbul meeting.
The conference, which began on Tuesday, was the third set of Turkish-sponsored talks in the city, which Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said on Wednesday marked an "initial stage" in resumed diplomacy.
Babacan had expressed the hope that the Middle Eastern powerhouses would get round the same table for direct negotiations.
The renewal of political dialogue between Israel and Syria was announced simultaneously in March after an eight-year hiatus.
Syria said at the time it had received Israeli commitments for a full withdrawal from the occupied Golan Heights, seized four decades ago, though Israeli officials have been tight-lipped on the controversial issue.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel was willing to make major concessions in what was seen as a reference to the Golan Heights, which were seized in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed in 1981 -- a move never recognised by the international community.
A large group of Israeli lawmakers, meanwhile, are pushing a bill to block an eventual return of the Golan Heights to Syria, and the proposal passed its first reading in parliament Monday.
The two countries have been officially at war since 1948, although armistice and ceasefire agreements have been signed in the interim.
ba/rt/gk
07/03/2008 19:54 GMT