US special envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell pushed a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace deal Sunday, as he met separately with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus and then with Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak in Tel Aviv, dpa reported. After his hour-long meeting with al-Assad, his second since June, Mitchell told reporters that he had discussed the prospects for a comprehensive peace in the region and improved relations between Syria and the United States. Mitchell said he had told al-Assad that US President Barack Obama "is determined to facilitate a truly comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace." "That peace means between Palestinians and Israelis, between Syria and Israel, and between Lebanon and Israel. And of course, ultimately, the full normalization of relations between Israel and all of the countries in the region," Mitchell said. "This is what the Arab Peace Initiative calls for, and it is the ultimate aim of the effort we are undertaking," he added. In 2002, members of the Arab League offered to establish full diplomatic relations with Israel in exchange for a full Israeli withdrawal from the territories it occupied in the 1967 war and "a just" solution to the question of Palestinian refugees. Syria supports the initiative. "Comprehensive peace is the only way to guarantee stability, security, and prosperity for all of the states in the region," Mitchell told reporters in Damascus. Mitchell said "the United States is committed to a dialogue based on mutual interest and mutual respect and a solid foundation for discussion of our shared goals and of real differences, where they occur."
