PARIS (WJC)–Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has rejected Israel’s offer to hold direct talks “anytime, anywhere.” In response to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposal for the two leaders to meet face to face, Assad said that he would only negotiate with Israel through mediators such as Turkey. The Syrian leader accused the Israeli government of refusing to “be a partner ready to move forward and ready to achieve results… If Mr. Netanyahu is serious, he can send his team of experts, and we’ll send ours, to Turkey, and they can talk if they are really interested,” he told journalists in Paris.
Assad met with French President Nicolas Sarkozy two days after Netanyahu had visited the French capital. Sarkozy offered to both to host an international summit to re-launch the peace process in the Middle East, according to the Israeli daily Ha’aretz. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said that Israel was interested in renewing peace negotiations with Syria.
In an interview with Assad published in the French newspaper ‘Le Figaro’, the Syrian president said he hoped that the United States would be a more active negotiator for peace in the Middle East and accused the Obama administration of not providing a clear “executive plan” toward that end. “The weak point is the American sponsor,” Assad said. “The sponsor has to elaborate a plan of action” rather than simply “an exchange of points of view.”
In the same interview, Assad accused Jerusalem of “probably lying” about an Israeli-seized Iranian shipment of weapons, which Israelis believe was intended for Hezbollah. “What is the proof that these weapons were destined for Hezbollah?” Assad asked. “The question is whether Israel has the right to commit this act of piracy.”
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Preceding provided by World Jewish Congress