Tibi said he met the Syrian official during a forum at New York's Ritz Hotel this week and their conversation focus on the political world, The Jerusalem Post reported Saturday.

Tibi said following Thursday's meeting of various Arab country officials that "the Syrian position on negotiations with Israel has, and will continue to be, indirect until things become more concrete."

Tibi and al-Moallem's countries are locked in a dispute over lands such as the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in 1967.

The Post said the Israeli official also condemned Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for recently suggesting the Holocaust never took place.

"The Holocaust is the worst crime ever committed in modern history. His words, undoubtedly, do not add to his case that he supposedly wishes to portray," Tibi said. "His comments are damaging and do not help."