Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem announced the next round of mediated peace talks with Israel is on hold until the new Israeli government is established, permitting Damascus to assess the policies of the new administration.

The senior Syrian minister rejected a call from President Shimon Peres, who invited Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to visit Yerushalayim, stating it represents “placing the horses before the cart”.

While Moallem did not blame Israel for Saturday’s powerful car bomb attack in Damascus, he did state that Israel would have much to gain by such an attack.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)