Syria says Israel does not want peace, benefits from US occupation of Iraq

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DAMASCUS (AFP) - Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Naji Otri accused Israel of not wanting peace with the Palestinians and charged that the Jewish state was the sole beneficiary of the US-led occupation of Iraq (news - web sites).

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"Israel, backed by the United States, is opposed to peace and remains a source of instability in the region," the official Sana press agency quoted Otri as saying at a meeting of the joint Syrian-Iranian high committee.

"Israel is the only one who benefits from the US-British occupation of Iraq... which has become a source of ongoing concern and is unacceptable," Otri said.

He called on "Arab and Muslim states, especially Iraq's neighbors, to coordinate their efforts to find a resolution that will put an end to the suffering of the Iraqi people and to the occupation, and that will allow the Iraqis to exercise their democratic rights and form their own government."

The meeting of the joint committee, co-chaired by Otri and Iranian first vice president Mohammad Reza Aref, was expected to focus on bilateral ties, specifically in the area of economic cooperation, Sana reported.

Otri reiterated Syria's "attachment" to peace in the Middle East and again called for the resumption of peace talks with Israel, which broke down four years ago.

Syria wants to recover the Golan Heights, the strategic plateau captured by Israel in 1967.

But Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (news - web sites) has said the negotiations must start again from scratch and has insisted on a halt to Syrian support for Palestinian and Lebanese militant groups.

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