By Tom Perry and Feras DalateyDAMASCUS, Aug 23 (Reuters) - Syria expects negotiations to resume soon with Israel over a security deal it hopes will lead to Israel's withdrawal from Syrian land, a top Syrian minister said, urging Israel to seize a "historic opportunity" as the door for diplomacy is open.In a Reuters interview in Damascus on Saturday, days after Israel bombed a Syrian airbase, Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani also stressed that Damascus' priority is to halt Israeli attacks, saying confidence-building steps were needed in this direction.

Israel said to set 'red lines' for diplomatic agreement, as US pushes for full renewal of direct Jerusalem-Damascus talks that were halted earlier this year

'We do not trust Israel currently,' top diplomat Asaad al-Shaibani says in an interview, but 'Syria is extending its hand for understandings, peace, diplomacy' with its neighbor