Netanyahu signals willingness to negotiate with Syria

Following his visit to the U.S. this week, Prime Minister Netanyahu made a stop in France to meet with President Nicolas Sarkozy. Reports have circulated that in Sarkozy's meeting today with Syrian President Bashar Assad, he will deliver a message from Netanyahu signaling his willingness to withdraw from the Golan Heights.

Netanyahu said on Wednesday that Israel would be willing to negotiate with Syria as long as there were no pre-conditions. Netanyahu's statement was made a few hours following Assad's declaration that he would not set pre-conditions for talks with Israel.

Though the Prime Minister's Bureau has denied reports of Netanyahu's willingness to withdraw from the Golan, Haaretz cites a senior political source in Jerusalem as saying that "Netanyahu is considering French mediation for talks with Syria because of Sarkozy's close ties to both him and Assad."

Ma'ariv reports:

The French president... said he was willing to relay messages between the two leaders and said he hoped that this attempt would work this time more than previous attempts from a few months ago. After their meeting, the French presidency issued a joint statement of both leaders saying that major international questions had been discussed, particularly ways to immediately renew the peace process in the Middle East.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak was also quoted yesterday as saying that as part of attempts to arrive at a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians, attempts at regional peace, including peace between Syria and Israel should be part of the broader goal as well.

From Ma'ariv:

"To complete the picture, it is possible and important, at the right time, to begin negotiations with Syria. We have to remember, in any situation, our vital security interests, but not make light of the peace signals that have been arriving of late from Damascus. The risks to us are well known: Iran, Hizbullah and Hamas, but the only way to prevent them from raising their head and battling them with all our might, is to stick to the possibility of reaching an agreement."