As-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper reported on Wednesday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office issued a statement that he is ready to meet with Syrian officials without setting preconditions in order to resume indirect Israeli-Syrian peace talks.

Netanyahu is willing to immediately meet with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus, Jerusalem, or in any other city, the daily said.

The PM's statement comes in response to the Guardian's report last week that Syria is ready to accept Israel's gradual withdrawal from the Golan Heights in return for normalizing relations.

"There could be stages of withdrawal, the timing of which could involve a form of normalization [between Israel and Syria]," Foreign Minister Walid al-Mouallem told Oxford Research Group Director of the Human Security in the Middle East Gabrielle Rifkind.

"[Returning] half of the Golan could lead to an end to enmity, while three quarters of the Golan could lead to [opening] a special interest section at the US Embassy in Damascus. A full [Israeli] withdrawal would allow a Syrian Embassy in Israel," he added.

Key issues, such as Syria's support for Hamas, Hezbollah and its policy to Iran, would "only be addressed after [Israel's] full withdrawal," he added.

A "well-informed source" told As-Sharq al-Awsat that Mouallem's quotes comply with the Madrid conference in 1991 - which was an early attempt by the international community to start a peace process through negotiations involving Israel and the Palestinians as well as Arab countries including Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.

However, according to the daily, the US State Department refused to comment on the issue, saying it will remain in line with Washington's policy not to reveal details of diplomatic discussions.