Israel is trying to find a suitable “formula" that can allow peace mediators to agree on a way to resume Israeli-Palestinian talks, Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak has claimed. “Direct negotiations are the best way to achieve lasting peace,” Israeli Radio quoted him as saying following his meeting with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in New York.. "I cannot promise you that it will happen, but we are still trying to do our best to enable it," he told reporters y after the meeting. During the same meeting, the UN Chief called for the need to resume peace talks, urging Israel to lift its blockade on the Gaza strip. He also expressed concern over Israel’s settlement policies in Occupied Jerusalem and the West Bank.