Syria blames Israel for lack of progress in peace talks

Syria's foreign minister blamed Israel in remarks published Tuesday for the deadlock in peace contacts between the two sides, citing Tel Aviv's rejection of Damascus' recent overtures.

"Despite our repeated calls for the resumption of negotiations, the peace road is deadlocked," Farouk al-Sharaa said in a speech to Syrian political leaders late Monday that was later carried by SANA, Syria's official news agency. "Israel and no one else is to blame for the deadlock in the peace process."

Al-Sharaa said that Israel's demands for dismantling of Hezbollah and Syria's withdrawal from Lebanon would be one of the results of peace "rather than a premature condition for it."