US envoy George Mitchell said on Saturday that Syria has a key role to play in US President Barack Obama’s efforts to secure peace in the Middle East.
Mitchell was speaking after holding talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus on the latest leg of his tour of the region.
"The President and Secretary of State have made clear that we seek peace between the Palestinians and Israelis, between Syria and Israel, between Lebanon and Israel and full normalisation between Israel and its Arab neighbours," Mitchell said after the meeting. "The peace we seek is truly comprehensive."
"Syria has an integral role to play in reaching comprehensive peace," Mitchell continued. "We seek to build on this effort to establish a relationship based on mutual respect and mutual interest. The United States looks forward to this continued dialogue."
Mitchell travelled to Damascus from Beirut and is the highest ranking official to visit Syria since US President Barack Obama took office in January.
The visit is designed to see how Syria can help end the Arab-Israeli conflict. Mitchell has already visited Israel, the West Bank, Egypt and Jordan on his trip.
On Tuesday, Syria said it was ready to resume contacts with Israel – albeit with Turkey as a mediator – with regard to relaunching peace talks. Syria suspended Turkish-brokered contacts last year when Israel attacked Gaza in December. In return for any peace deal, Syria wants to get back the Golan Heights, territory occupied by Israel in the 1967 war.
Syrians hope that improved relations with Washington could see a lifting of US economic sanctions on the country, which were imposed when Syria was accused of being a state sponsor of terrorism in 2004.
The US government also recalled its ambassador in February 2005 following the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri.
Earlier this week in Beirut, Mitchell said the US government would not sacrifice Lebanon in return for Syrian co-operation on a Middle East peace deal.
