CAIRO -- Egypt said Monday it is ready to mediate between Israel and Syria to help restart the deadlocked peace negotiations between them.

Government spokesman Majed Abdel Fatah said Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will raise that subject when he meets his Syrian counterpart Bashar Assad at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Tuesday.

"The Syrian side expressed a wish to start a new political dialogue and negotiations to reach a final settlement without pre-conditions and that should be followed by Israeli acceptance to do the same," Abdel Fatah told reporters.

He said "Egypt is ready and willing to play a role to help start dialogue between the two sides."

He also noted that Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Ghait and Omar Suleiman, Egyptian head of intelligence, might raise the issue when they visit Israel on Wednesday.

Asked if Israel showed any intention or goodwill to resume negotiations with Syria, Abdel Fatah said, "Israel did not say anything in that regard although Syria made a concession when it announced it would restart unconditional negotiations."

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Middle East peace envoy Terhe Roed Larsen of Norway said last week after a meeting with Assad that Syria is willing to resume negotiations with Israel without prior conditions.

Copyright 2004 by United Press International