Israel's UN Ambassador Dan Gillerman and Syrian and Israeli Foreign Ministry officials have vehemently denied reports that the two foreign ministers met at the United Nations. Gillerman said that the report is "one of those nice rumors" that result from casual conversations in the halls of the United Nations complex in New York.

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and her Syrian counterpart Walid Moallem also denied the report, which was communicated in a Nazareth Arab newspaper that stated the alleged meeting was arranged by Qatar.