JERUSALEM, July 18 (UPI) -- Israel has confirmed third parties are being used to convey messages between its government and Syria's, Haaretz reported Wednesday.
The admission confirms earlier statements made by Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Turkey, European countries and U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi have all been relaying Israeli-Syrian messages for "quite some time," Israel's Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev has said. However, none of the go-betweens have been successful in getting the two sides to resume peace talks.
Regev said Syria is not really interested in improving its relationship with Israel and accused Damascus of using this communication as a diplomatic move to improve its ties with Europe and North America.
"The problem is not the lack of good people offering their good offices. The problem appears to be with the policy goals of the regime in Damascus. While it is possible that they talk about peace, that's all it is -- talk," Regev said.
Assad said he sees no possibility for direct meetings between Syrian and Israeli representatives right now, Haaretz said.
But the Syrian leader also said that once contacts through indirect channels were exhausted, "direct, open negotiations" should be conducted "in the presence of an honest broker."
