Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Al-Mu'alem has said that an Israeli withdrawal to the 1967 lines is to be the basis for beginning direct negotiations with Israel, and that this issue is not one to be discussed during negotiations.
He said that this has been Syria's position since the Madrid conference.
A Syrian source close to the negotiations said that Syria had sent Israel, via Turkey, a document in which the main point is the withdrawal to the 1967 lines, in order to prevent any obscuring of the issue by Israel.
Source: Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, London, September 5, 2008
