Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Wednesday, in response to the words of Syrian President Bashar Assad in the Croatian parliament, that, "peace with Syria is a main building block in a stable regional order.”

Barak said that "Israel has looked in the past and will continue to look for in the future ways to promote peace with Syria." However, he said, it also requires responsible behavior on the part of the Syrians and Hizbullah officials, to prevent deterioration in the region." On Tuesday Islamic terrorists shot rockets into the Galilee from Lebanon.

Earlier Wednesday, the Syrian president said, "we have the support of the Syrian people to negotiate and the only condition is that that the same will exist on the Israeli side." He noted they would need a third party as mediator to resume talks.