US Mideast envoy, in Damascus, pushes for comprehensive peace

Jul 26, 2009, 9:56 GMT

Damascus - George Mitchell, US President Barack Obama's special envoy to the Middle East, on Sunday pushed a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace deal after meeting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Mitchell, who is to visit Egypt and Bahrain, was in Damascus as part of a broader US push for motion on peace negotiations. US Defence Secretary Robert Gates was expected in Israel and Jordan later on Sunday.

After his hour-long meeting with al-Assad, his second since June, Mitchell told reporters that he had discussed the prospects for a comprehensive peace in the region and improved relations between Syria and the United States.

Mitchell said he had told al-Assad that Obama is determined to facilitate a truly comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace, adding that this would mean the full normalization of relations between Israel and all of the countries in the region.

This is what the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative calls for, and it is the ultimate aim of the effort the United States is undertaking, Mitchell told reporters.

In 2002, members of the Arab League offered to establish full diplomatic relations with Israel in exchange for a full Israeli withdrawal from the territories it occupied in the 1967 war and 'a just' solution to the question of Palestinian refugees. Syria supports the initiative.

A comprehensive peace is the only way to guarantee stability, security, and prosperity for all of the states in the region, Mitchell told reporters in Damascus.

Mitchell said the United States remained committed to the idea that a dialogue with Syria based on mutual interests and mutual respect was the most solid foundation for a discussion of the two countries' shared goals and any real differences in their positions.

Syria is a country with talented people and a long and impressive history, he said, but it needs real peace to achieve its full potential.

His remarks closely mirrored those he made when he was last in Damascus, on June 13.

'We seek peace between the Palestinians and Israelis, between Syria and Israel, between Lebanon and Israel and full normalization between Israel and its Arab neighbours,' he told reporters then.