London/Ramallah/Damascus, Asharq Al-Awsat – Amid verbal escalation between Syria and Israel, the Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman warned Syrian President Bashar al Assad that he would “lose the war and lose his power,” if he launches a war against Israel. Lieberman said, “Our message should be clear to al Assad: if there is a new war, not only will you lose it but you will also lose power – you and your family.”

There was immediate reaction to Lieberman’s comments as Syrian political circles saw two possibilities in the current Israeli escalation and Lieberman’s threat: “They are either messages for Israel internally” or “it is to cover up the inability of the current Israeli regime to commit to the requirements of the fair and comprehensive peace process.”

Meanwhile, Washington called for the parties to exercise “self-restraint and not to take any steps in this respect that would only add to the difficulty of negotiations.”

The US State Department told Asharq Al-Awsat that Washington “is working hard to resume peace negotiations immediately on all levels,” including the Syrian-Israeli level. However “there are still outstanding issues concerning the Syrians and as soon as he is ratified by the Senate, the new US envoy Robert Ford will begin to discuss the issues concerning the Syrians.”