Israel acknowledges need for talks with Syria

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak says Tel Aviv was seeking ways to resume suspended peace negations with Damascus which "is a central feature of any stable regional settlement".

"Israel has tried in the past and will continue in the future to seek ways to advance peace with Syria," said Barak.

He, however, went on to say that the resumption of peace talks would depend on what he called "a responsible attitude on the part of Syria as well as Hezbollah to counter the dangers of a deterioration in the region."

His remarks followed a statement by Syrian President Bashar Assad who announced that Damascus would support conditional negotiations with Israel.

"As far as it concerns us in Syria we have national support to continue talks with Israel," Assad said.

"However, there is a condition that on the Israeli side we also have those who want to continue the negotiations," he added.

The Syrian President has also praised Turkey's efforts in the peace process and stressed that the presence of a "third side" would be necessary if the talks resume.

"We call on European countries to also give their contribution, to help Turkey but also us to be able to resume from where we have stopped," he said.

Turkey last year brokered four rounds of indirect talks between Israel and Syria, focusing on the thorny issue of the return of the Golan Heights, a strategic plateau occupied by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war.

Syria put the last round of talks on hold after Israel launched its deadly incursion into the Gaza Strip in last December.