Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has asked Israel to publicly declare its intentions for a peace deal. The Syrian leader made the appeal Tuesday as he was sworn-in for a second, seven-year term in office.
Mr. Assad said future negotiations depend on Israel withdrawing from the Golan Heights, an area that the Jewish state has occupied since 1967. Peace talks between the two nations have been frozen since 2000.
Israel has said it is open to resuming peace talks with Syria, but wants Damascus to cut ties to anti-Israeli militant groups.
Mr. Assad won re-election in May. He received 97 percent of the votes as the only candidate in a referendum boycotted by the opposition. He first came to power in 2000, succeeding his father, the late Hafez al-Assad, who ruled Syria for 30 years until his death.
Washington has urged Syria to stop interfering in neighboring Lebanon which is in the middle of a political standoff between the Western-backed government and the pro-Syrian opposition.
Lebanon's opposition is led by Hezbollah, the Shi'ite militant group that was involved in a war with Israel last year that killed some 1,200 Lebanese and 160 Israelis. - VOA News
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