April 27, 2008 (LPAC)--Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Recep Erdogan is mediating peace moves between Syria and Israel, and the whole effort is bypassing the opposition from the Bush Administration, according to high-level sources in the region, who spoke to Executive Intelligence Review on Sunday, April 27. The Turkish Prime Minister met in recent days with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and both Syrian and Israeli officials confirmed afterwards that Turkey is formally mediating between the two countries.

According to one source, a meeting between President Assad and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert could take place in the near future, as both sides agree on most features of a treaty that would return the Golan Heights to Syria, in return for security guarantees, including security of Israel's northern border with Lebanon.

Ironically, one feature of such an agreement, according to one Arab source familiar with the talks, is that Syria would continue to play a significant role in assuring the stability of Lebanon, and the transition of Hezbollah from a military organization to a political organization, fully integrated into the Lebanese governing process. One source also pointed to the meeting on April 27, at Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, between Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, as another part of the same ``independent of Washington'' regional diplomatic initiatives.

President Abbas returned from a visit to Washington, angry that President Bush refused to pledge to pressure Israel to halt settlement expansions. Abbas, according to Palestinian sources, saw that refusal by President Bush as a clear indication that no substantive peace deal will be reached before Bush leaves office. The moves reflect a push-back from the war drive clearly coming out of the Cheney circles in Washington, who take their marching orders from London. But to the extent that the effort is blind-sided to the British factor, pushing for permanent war in the region, the best intentions will not translate into adequate war avoidance measures.