The U.S. will press Syria to resume talks with Israel when a delegation of top security officials arrives Wednesday in Damascus, according to a Syrian source quoted by Reuters. American and Syrian security officials will also reportedly discuss arrangements on the Syrian-Iraqi border. The United States has demanded that Syria step up security along the border to prevent infiltration into Iraq.
One of the members of the delegation includes State Department official Frederick Hoff, who is responsible for bridging the gap on territorial dispute between Israel and Syria, which are still officially at war. Negotiations between the two countries have been mediated by Turkey throughout the years. However, one of the issues at the crux of the dispute is the final status of the Golan Heights, which Israel conquered in 1967 after it was attacked by Syria.
A Damascus diplomat said that the U.S. will present during the talks a list of terrorists involved in Iraqi attacks and will demand that Syria arrests them.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad agreed to the U.S. security team’s visit when U.S. envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell visited Syria last month.
The visit comes a few days after Syria’s Ambassador to the U.S., Imad Mustafa, announced that America will ease import-export regulations for Syria. The U.S. hopes to use the easing of regulations as a way to persuade Syria to renew talks with Israel.
American industrial and financial companies have been lobbying Washington on behalf of Damascus, Mustafa told the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA). He said that U.S. President Barack Obama had removed items such as civil aviation equipment, plane components, communications and information systems and technology, software, hardware and internet-related equipment from the list of good that until now, the U.S. has refused to sell to Syria.