Syria wants to resume talks with Israel

JERUSALEM, Oct. 29 (UPI) -- Peace with Syria is a major building block in any regional peace deal, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said.

Barak's statements came late Wednesday in response to comments by Syrian President Bashar Assad earlier in the day saying he would like to renew talks with Israel, Israeli and Arab media reports said Thursday.

For talks to resume, Syria and Hezbollah must behave more responsibly "to prevent the dangers of conflict in the region," Haaretz quoted Barak saying.

At a meeting with Croatian President Stjepan Mesic in Damascus, Assad urged Europe to provide a suitable third party negotiator to facilitate peace talks, the newspaper said.

Syria seeks a just and comprehensive peace, the Syrian news agency SANA quoted Assad saying.

"The peace process cannot be separated from the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian lands," the news agency quoted Assad saying.

Syria and Israel conducted four rounds of talks mediated by Turkey when former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was in power, the paper said.

Damascus froze negotiations to protest Israel's military offensive in Gaza earlier this year, the paper said.