Israel is dismissing the latest report of Syrian interest to return to negotiations as “nothing new.”
United Nations Middle East envoy Terje Roed-Larsen met in Damascus on Wednesday with Syrian President Bashar Al-Asad and Foreign Minister A-Shara’. In a statement to reporters following the meeting, Larsen said that Syria was willing to resume negotiations with Israel without conditions.
A spokesman for Israel’s foreign ministry told the Associated Press that, “If Syria wants to be a partner in peace we need to see a change in Syrian behavior. You can’t on the one hand say you’re interested in peace and at the same time have a partnership with a group like Hizbullah, which is antithetical to peace.”
On Wednesday, Israeli Foreign Minister Sylvan Shalom said that his country will not take Syrian overtures seriously until it ceases to shelter terrorist organizations.