Masalha: Israel is serious in making peace

Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Nawaf Maslha has stressed that the Israeli government led by Ehud Barak is serious about making peace and that the Arab states have to "invest this to reach peace."

In an interview with Sawt al-Arab radio Masalha said Barak proceeds on the same path already started by former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.

Masalha expressed his conviction that peace negotiations between Syria and Israel will be resumed before the end of the current year. He, in this respect, said that disputes between the two sides are based on the formula of resuming these negotiations that should be accepted on the Syrian and Israeli sides.

Masalha stated that the Israeli government has taken a decision to withdraw from south Lebanon, adding that Barak announces every week that he prefers such a withdrawal to be through a Syrian-Lebanese and Israeli agreement and if not so the withdrawal will be unilateral.