Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Monday that French President Nicholas Sarkozy relayed a message from Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad that the Syrian president is willing to waive his long-standing demand that return of the Golan Heights is a prerequisite to peace talks.
According to the message, Al-Assad did not want direct negotiations but mediated talks. The prime minister said he relayed a message in return that he preferred direct talks, but if the Damascus government wanted mediation, it would be through the French president. Until now, Turkey has mediated Israel's talks with Syria.