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Background Basics

Israel and Syria Negotiations

posted on 04/28/08

Last week Syrian President Bashar al-Assad told Qatar’s Al Watan newspaper that Syria has been indirectly negotiating with Israeli representatives since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah War. Assad said that Turkey became involved last year, which led to “new and positive outcomes.” Through Turkey, Israel has reportedly offered to withdraw from the Golan Heights in exchange for peace with Syria. Israeli officials neither confirmed nor denied the statement; instead they relayed their interest in peace negotiations. Assad has indicated openness to such talks in the future under a new U.S. administration. Turkish PM Erdogan met with President Assad this weekend to discuss progress towards starting direct peace negotiation. Turkey reiterated its commitment to acting as a moderator for the process.

We direct you to previous Background Basics for more information on key aspects of Israeli-Syrian negotiations:

Outstanding issues between Israel and Syria: The edition highlights contentious issues including the Golan Heights, water-sharing arrangements, Syria’s relationships with Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran, Syrian involvement in Lebanese politics and debates over the Syrian weapons program.

Israel-Syria Negotiations Since the Madrid Conference: The edition discusses previous negotiations between the two countries consisting of secret meetings held in Europe from 2004-2006, the Clinton-Assad summit in Geneva in 2000, secret negotiations between Netanyahu and Assad from 1997-1998, two rounds of talk in 1995 and 1996 at the Wye River Conference Center and ambassadorial level negotiations in 1994.

The Golan Heights: A Key Issue in the Israel-Syria Dispute: The edition provides a history of the territorial dispute over the Golan Heights as well as an overview of the area’s strategic value.