Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had a friendly conversation with Rep. Nancy Pelosi. Olmert reached out to the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives on Monday in the aftermath of accusations from his office that she mangled a message to Syria during her tour of the region last week. Pelosi (D-Calif.), however, said she delivered the message as requested: Israel was ready to discuss peace once Syria stopped backing terrorism, among other measures. Olmert called to “thank her for her efforts,” Pelosi’s office said. Pelosi called Dalia Itzik, the Knesset speaker and acting Israeli president, to brief her on messages Pelosi relayed to Bashar Assad about captive Israeli soldiers. Sallai Meridor, the Israeli ambassador to Washington, also expressed his appreciation for Pelosi’s visit to Israel. He called it “a unique manifestation of the strong bipartisanship friendship and alliance between our two countries, especially the speaker’s concern for Israel’s interests and her efforts on behalf of Israel’s soldiers.”
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