Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told lawmakers on Monday that Israel has sent a message to Syria ruling out negotiations with Damascus. At a meeting of parliament's influential foreign affairs and defense committee, Olmert said that Israel has sent a message to Syria that, given Syria's conduct, it can't be seen as a partner for negotiations. Olmert's Kadima Party came to power on a platform of large-scale Israeli pullbacks in the West Bank. Asked about the fate of that plan given Israel's recent war against Lebanese fighters, Olmert replied, «What I advocated several months ago has changed,» according to a report of the Associated Press.
