By NNN-KUNA,
Ankara : The third round of indirect peace talks between Syria and Israel have commenced in Istanbul under the auspices of Turkey after eight years of stalemate in the peace process on the Syrian-Israeli track.
This was affirmed by the daily (Hurriyet Online) website Tuesday, pointing out that the envoys of Israeli Prime Minister Shalom Turjman and Yoram Tobvich were currently conducting talks with the Syrian delegation through a Turkish intermediary in an environment of extreme secrecy and confidentiality.
The site, quoting Israeli sources who declined to disclose their identity, added that the two delegations would stay in two separate rooms where a Turkish intermediary would discuss with the two sides and convey their views to each other, pointing out that the two sides were satisfied with this manner at this stage, pending agreement on the points of the negotiations which will be direct at a later stage.
According to the site, Israel wants direct negotiations to start in the coming weeks in order to shorten the time and effort and to reach a satisfactory result.
Istanbul hosted two previous rounds of indirect talks, in May and June, under the direct auspices of the Turkish Prime Minister’s Offica which imposed a media blockade to prevent any media leaks.