Syria is ready to provide the guarantees Israel wants concerning water from the occupied Golan Heights in a peace deal, Israeli Arab Member of Parliament Azmi Beshara said Thursday.
"Syria is ready to give the guarantees to Israel on the continuation of the flow of water" into Israeli territory, after the Golan is returned to Damascus, said Beshara after meeting Syrian Foreign Minister Faruq al-Shara.
Stressing that the waters of the Golan, which was occupied by Israel in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, are "in fact Syrian waters," Beshara said that "international laws regulate water sharing" among countries.
Syria demands as the price of a peace accord an Israeli withdrawal to the pre-1967 lines, giving Damascus access to the fresh water Sea of Galilee.
Israel says it wants to keep the whole of the Sea of Galilee to itself, in line with internationally drawn borders of the 1920s.
SYRIA-ISRAEL MIGHT TALK PEACE SOON
Lebanon's influential parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said on Wednesday he was hopeful Syrian-Israeli peace talks could resume by May.
Berri, who enjoys close ties to Syria, told deputies that chances for resuming the negotiations were “50-50” but said he remained optimistic.
“We should not lose hope that the negotiations might be restarted before the end of May,” Berri said. His comments were verified by his spokesman.
“I am pessimistic and optimistic 50-50, but the longer we wait to restart the talks, the more pessimistic I am,” he added – (Agencies)
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