Syria rejects report of secret US talks over Israel

A report by a Kuwaiti newspaper describing Syria’s “unprecedented” cooperation over peace talks with Israel has been denied and rejected by a senior government source in Damascus on Sunday.

According to al-Rai newspaper report on Saturday, there has been an ongoing secret talks taking place between the United States and Syria to reach a comprehensive Israeli-Syrian peace treaty.

The informed sources said that the clandestine talks started after the Syrian foreign minister, Wallid al-Moallem, sent welcoming signals to the U.S., and showed that "the Syrians are ready to re-engage in dialogue with the Israelis to reach peace," the Israeli Haaretz quoted al-Rai.

The informed sources have also described Syria’s cooperation as "unprecedented” which in turn prompted Washington to talk with the Syrian officials to reach a peace agreement between Syria and Israel.

Syria to leave Iran

The senior Damascus official said it is the Special Middle East Envoy Dennis Ross that promoted the negotiations while holding talks in Syria, contrary to al-Rai’s report which said that it was a Syrian initiative.

Al-Rai’s informed sources also said that Ross found "Syria ready to move away from Iran and reduce relations with Hezbollah and Hamas, and work with the United States in the fight against terrorism."

The Haaretz said that the Kuwaiti newspaper reported that Israel has expressed a willingness to return the Golan Heights it captured from Syria since 1967 war and to reach an agreement on water rights, and normalize relations with Damascus.

The strategic Golan Heights overlooks northern Israel and its return is a perquisite demand by Syria for any peace to prevail with the Jewish state.

The 2000 direct Israeli-Syrian peace talks proved unsuccessful and deteriorated when Syria claimed access to the Sea of Galilee, as per the de facto border which existed prior to the 1967 war.

Also, Turkish mediated Israeli-Syrian talks in 2008 came to a complete halt after Israel attacked the Gaza strip in the same period.