Damascus - Former US President Jimmy Carter said Thursday
that he hoped that Syria and the Palestinians could make peace with
Israel by 2012, after a meeting with Syrian President Basha al-Assad
in Damascus.
Carter, who has talks with Hamas scheduled for later Thursday, is
officially in the region as a private citizen, according to US
diplomatic sources.
However, it is believed to be his third trip to Syria in little
over a year.
After meeting al-Assad and Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moalem
Carter said he hoped Hamas would commit to peaceful relations with
Israel, in line with the current Arab peace initiative.
Carter said he and the Syrian president had discussed the
situation in Iraq, Lebanon and US special Middle East envoy George
Mitchell's visit to Syria on Friday and Saturday.
Osama Hamdan is among the Damascus-based Hamas leaders Carter is
scheduled to meet.
'Changes are emerging, and new language is being used, especially
after (US President) Obama's speech in Cairo last week,' Hamdan told
dpa .
'Hamas will listen to what Carter (has to say) about Obama's view
and policies towards the resistance in the region,' Hamdan said.
Carter said he expected the Obama administration would
seek to find way to engage with Hamas following the conclusion of
Egyptian-brokered talks on forming a 'national unity' government
between Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, and Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah faction, which controls the West Bank.
Speaking to reporters in Cairo after discussing those efforts with
Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, Hamas political leader
Khaled Meshaal stressed that any peace negotiations must involve his
group.
'No one in the region or the international community will be able
to do anything that can affect the Palestinian-Israeli conflict
unless they deal with Hamas,' Meshaal said.
Meshaal is also scheduled to meet with Carter on Thursday evening.
Mitchell is due to arrive in Damascus on Friday at the head of a
high-level delegation including US Acting Assistant Secretary of
State for Middle East Affairs Jeffrey Feltman and National Security
Council advisor Mark Shapiro.
The delegation will conduct exploratory talks aimed at arriving at
a comprehensive Israeli-Arab peace, a US diplomat in Damascus said.
USA
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