Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's office expressed "regret" at comments by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who on Wednesday told Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs Miguel Moratinos that Israel was "not serious about achieving peace," and that Israel was "pushing the region towards another war."
In a statement, Netanyahu said that the situation was quite the opposite of that described by Assad. Israel, the statement said, has many times expressed willingness to negotiate with Syria, without preconditions. Israel also welcomes fair third party negotiators "that can move forward the peace process with Syria. Unfortunately, it is Syria which is placing obstacles in the way of negotiations," the statement said.