Ah, memories

From Haaretz for January 9.

The United States does not intend to push for or sponsor any resumption of Syrian-Israeli talks, but will not object should Israel choose to take up Syrian President Bashar Assad's offer to resume negotiations, senior American officials told Jerusalem this week.

The officials expressed skepticism about Assad's intentions, arguing that had he been serious, he would have used diplomatic back channels rather than calling for new talks in a newspaper interview.

Maybe he did it this way because backchannel efforts would have been even easier to rebuff than this was? And, uh, does anyone else besides me recall that the process which produced the Camp David accords, establishing a peace between Egypt and Israel, began with Anwar Sadat dropping a hint in an interview that he'd go to Jerusalem if he were invited?