Jimmy Carter in Syria

Damascus, SANA _President Bashar al-Assad said Thursday that Syria was and is still clear in its position and committed to the option of peace that will return the land to their owners and the legitimate rights to the Palestinian people.

That came when President al-Assad received former U.S. President Jimmy Carter.

President al-Assad and Carter reviewed the current situation in the Middle East and ways of activating the stalled peace process.

For his part, President Carter hoped to see an improvement in the Syrian-US relations under the administration of President Barack Obama who wishes to pursue a new policy with all countries of the region dominated by dialogue and mutual respect.

Carter pointed out that Syria is an important player in the region, and that he believed that the U.S. administration is willing to develop this relation.

He stressed that the current Israeli government has to stop settlement and adopt the bases of peace.

The meeting was attended by Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem, Presidential Political and Media Advisor Dr. Buthaina Shaaban, Deputy Foreign Minister Dr. Fayssal Mikdad and the delegation accompanying President Carter.

In a press conference following the meeting Carter said: " I discussed with President al-Assad the cooperation built on the goodwill between Syria and the United States, George Mitchell's forthcoming visit and the situation in Iraq as I briefed the President on plans of my tour which I intend to complete in the region.

He expressed his belief that President Barack Obama wants to establish
relations of cooperation and friendship with Syria, and this includes the lifting of sanctions and sending US ambassador to Damascus.

President Carter added: " Our main task is to support the Middle East peace process with the hope of resumption of negotiations between Syria and Israel, and Israel's withdrawal from the Golan , and I hope a positive progress would be achieved in the peace process, where today there is a commitment by the President Obama to play an active role."

Carter added that there is no doubt that U.S. involvement is necessary to ensure the success of the peace process, but I can not predict the final result… there is no doubts that the international community, the Europeans, Russia and the United States are deeply interested in the success of the initiative launched by President Obama, which set a deadline before end of his term in 2012 for the completion of a peace agreement between the Israelis and Palestinians and between Israel and Syria.

He called on the US government to conduct, as soon as possible, a dialogue with Hamas, adding, "It's impossible to achieve peace between Israel and the Palestinians without inserting Hamas directly in this process.

Carter pointed out to Israel's detention of 11700 Palestinian captives, among them 400 women and children as well as members of the Palestinian Legislative Council who were elected in 2006 in addition to Marwan al-Barghouthi.

This is Carter's third visit to Damascus in 2008 and 2009 with the aim of pushing the Syrian-US relations forward and removing the obstacles facing them.

Earlier, the U.S. State Department announced that U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell visits Damascus at the end of this week as a part of efforts to revive the peace process and President Obama's efforts to reach a comprehensive peace in the region.

Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman and National Security Council Senior Director Daniel Shapiro, held talks in Damascus last March and May with Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem and agreed on continuing the existing dialogue to address the standing differences to achieve the two countries' interests.

Six delegates from the U.S. Congress also visited Damascus this year to discuss bilateral relations and ways to move them forward through a serious and constructive dialogue based on mutual respect and common interests.