Israeli President Shimon Peres denied reports that he conveyed new peace proposals to Syria via his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev, Haaretz has reported.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said in an interview on Tuesday that Peres proposed to return the Golan Heights to Syria if Damascus cuts ties with Iran and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. He said Peres had handed the proposals to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev during his visit to Russia on May 9, and Medvedev delivered them to Damascus on his recent visit to Syria.
"The president did not send Assad a letter, either through the Russian president or through any other mediator," a spokesperson said in a statement.
But the statement confirmed reports that Peres took advantage of the Russian mediation to reassure Assad that Israel had no plans to attack Syria or Lebanon this summer.
"Peres relayed a clear message to Assad that Israel is ready for immediate peace talks with the Syrians," the statement said, but added that the country was "not ready for peace talks under threats."
The president's press service said Israel will not put up with a situation in which Syria "demands to withdraw from the Golan Heights while placing Iranian missiles in the northern mountains."
Al-Assad earlier said his country was ready to negotiate on all issues as soon as the Golan Heights, occupied by Israel during the Six-Day War in 1967, are returned to Syria.
TEL AVIV/GAZA, May 19 (RIA Novosti)
