President Shimon Peres met in Jerusalem Wednesday evening with Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Moratinos, who reportedly relayed a message concerning Syria.
According to Moratinos, Syrian President Bashar Assad said during their meeting that he was "optimistic about reigniting the Israeli-Syrian peace process."
The Spanish FM and Peres also discussed ways to advance the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations within the framework of the Arab peace initiative. "There is definitely a momentum for peace between Israel and the Arab world," Moratinos told the Israeli president.
Peres responded by saying, "If the final details are agreed upon, I believe that we will be able to announce the renewal of the peace process during the UN General Assembly session (later this month)."
The Spanish FM, whose country will next take over the European Union presidency, said Iran's response to the West's proposal to launch nuclear talks was insufficient, adding that he was working to aggravate the sanctions against Tehran within the framework of the European Union.
Peres concluded the meeting by saying, "The relations with your country are extremely important to Israel, and the Jews have a historic bond with Spain."
Relations between Israel and Spain have been tense as of late following a Spanish court's decision to probe and prosecute senior Israeli security officials over the 2002 assassination of top Hamas figure Salah Shehadeh in Gaza, which also left 14 Palestinian civilians dead. The investigation was eventually closed.
Front Page Features