Syria’s ambassador to the United States denied that he took part in informal discussions with top Israeli and American officials during a recent academic conference in Texas. The Israeli daily Ha’aretz reported that among those who attended the closed-door discussions with Walid Mualem were Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s senior adviser, Uzi Arad, and the U.S. assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, Martin Indyk. If true, the discussions would represent the first contact between Israeli and Syrian officials since talks between the two countries were suspended more than two years ago.
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