Ehud Olmert’s office denied that Israel relayed a message to Syria via Nancy Pelosi accepting Syrian calls to renew peace negotiations. Pelosi (D-Calif.), speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, said she had relayed a message from the Israeli prime minister to Syrian President Bashar Assad to that effect.The Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement that “what was discussed with the House speaker did not include any change in Israel’s policy, as it has been presented to international parties involved in the matter.” It stressed that Olmert had told Pelosi that Israel continued to regard Syria as “part of the axis of evil and a party encouraging terrorism in the entire Middle East.”Syrian officials promised Pelosi to assist in mediation efforts over the fate of captured Israeli soldiers, the London-based Arabic-language newspaper Al-Hayat reported Thursday.President Bush had criticized Pelosi for visiting Syria, which the U.S. government shuns because of its support for terrorism and anti-American insurgents in Iraq. But the day after Pelosi met with Assad, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) also met Assad and his foreign minister, Walid Moallem. Issa, a Lebanese American, said Bush has failed to promote dialogue to resolve disagreements between the United States and Syria.
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