January 2004:
Syrian President Bashar Assad goes to Turkey for important visit. Former Foreign Ministry director-general Dr. Alon Liel was in the same hotel.

A few days later:
The Turkish ambassador to Israel tells Liel that Assad asked Turkey to use its good relations with Israel to renew negotiations.

Liel brings Geoffrey Aronson from the Foundation for Middle East Peace into the picture. Aronson suggests bringing in Ibrahim (Ayeb) Suleiman.

September 2004:
Liel, Aronson and Suleiman meet in a European capital that agreed to provide assistance and funding for a cover Israeli-Syrian channel.

There have been seven meetings since fall 2004. After each one, Liel gave a full report to a senior official in Israel's Foreign Ministry. The Prime Minister's Bureau was also updated.

The European mediator in the talks tells official Israeli sources in Israel: "I was convinced that the Syrians want a peace agreement with you."

August 2005:
The final document is formulated. The final meeting took place a year later, in the midst of the second Lebanon war.