During military drill in Golan Heights defense minister states Israel not interested in war with Syria and vice versa. Barak's statement joins calming messages by Olmert, Assad's deputy on issue in recent days
"Israel is not interested in war with Syria, and we believe that Syria does not want war either," Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Wednesday. "Therefore war shouldn't erupt," he added.
Syrian Message
'We have no plans for war on Israel' / Reuters
Farouq al-Shara says Damascus has no intention of waging war against to regain Golan Heights
Barak made the statements while attending a military drill of the Armored Corps' 74th Battalion in the Golan Heights. "We haven't trained enough for five years, and we now plan to train all the IDF's units," he said.
During a visit to the north Tuesday, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has also made it clear that Israel was not out for war.
Later in the evening, Syria sent its own calming signals, when Syrian Vice President Farouk al-Sara stated that while his country is ready to respond to any Israel aggression, it did not intend on starting a war.
"The Syrian public does not want war, although he will settle for no less than a full Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights. The Arab peace initiative is clear on this issue, and we support it," he added.
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