Fearing isolation following the UN Security Council decision to sanction Iran, Syria has signaled its intention to resume negotiations with Israel – this time without Turkey, and perhaps with the aid of the US instead.

Arlen Specter, who was invited to Damascus by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, first decided to fly to Israel to check the waters there and see if Tel Aviv wanted to convey any messages to Damascus, reports Hurriyet Daily News & Economic Review, citing diplomatic sources.

According to the Israeli press, Israel repeated the well-known message that it was willing to resume talks with Syria immediately without any preconditions. The senator from Pennsylvania held further talks with Syrian officials in Damascus and is due to return to Israel on Monday, the diplomatic sources said.

Turkey, which previously mediated four indirect rounds of peace talks between Israel and Syria, has fallen out of favor as a go-between due to its strained ties with Israel in the wake of the Gaza flotilla attack, as well as its dissenting vote in the UN Security Council.

“Syria wanted to open up to the West via Turkey but if the Turkish-Western relationship is being harmed as a result of many developments, including Turkey’s ‘no’ vote on the Iran sanctions, Syrian-Turkish relations become less attractive,” said one diplomatic observer familiar with the region.

“Turkish-Syrian relations are good for the sake of the two countries but they are not good enough or satisfactory for Syrian interests as Damascus is also willing to have good relations with the West.”

Talks between Israel and Syria were suspended following the resignation of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. After the Israeli offensive in Gaza in late 2008, Syria ruled out a resumption of indirect talks, but al-Assad recently signaled that he may be reassessing that stance.