On the resumption of Syrian-Israeli peace talks

A high-ranking US official said on Tuesday that Israel and Syria had held numerous talks in the recent months and are resuming their talks for the sake of peace in Washington at a certain rate of confidence to reach an agreement.

The senior administration officials, who asked not to be identified, added: "We feel there's momentum and we are going to want to be building on the momentum." The officials also said, "Clearly, in the security area, they still have issues they're going to have to negotiate."

The US officials warned against exaggerating optimism over points of rapprochement between the two countries, noting that the two sides agreed to resume talks from the point it left off in 1996.

He continued, "If they didn't believe their needs could be met, they probably would not be at the table. "

Asked what the role of the U.S. will be during this negotiation, the official said, "we will have a continuous role; we will be available and present; and that's pretty much the way day one will work." "The focus of these first two days is much more on determining how they will proceed, what's the best way to proceed," said the senior official. "And, obviously, they'll deal with not only the how to do that, but when to resume."