CBNNews.com - JERUSALEM, Israel - Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem said Israel postponed the next round of third-party talks between the two countries, which would have taken place today and Friday.

Moallem's announcement came during a joint press conference with Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Mortinos in Damascus Wednesday.

"When Israel is ready to resume the talks, we will be too because we want to build a solid base that will allow the launch of direct negotiations whatever the outcome of the Kadima party elections in Israel," Muallem said.

According to Israeli officials in Jerusalem, the postponement had nothing to do with the Kadima primaries, but rather with receiving authorization from the Justice Ministry to allow Yoram Turbowicz, who resigned as Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's chief of staff in August, to continue his role as chief negotiator in talks with Syria on a voluntary basis.

With Olmert poised to resign as prime minister and reside over a caretaker government, further talks with Syria will likely be on hold for the foreseeable future.

Source: The Jerusalem Post