Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said in comments published Sunday that peace between Israel and Syria was harder to achieve under the leadership of Premier Sharon, in relation to his predecessors.
The Egyptian leader said Israeli-Syrian peacemaking opportunities had been lost under former prime ministers Yitzhak Rabin and Ehud Barak. "In the days of Yitzhak Rabin, he said he would give the Golan entirely to Syria in return for the establishment of two embassies in Damascus and Tel Aviv," Mubarak said in extracts of an interview with Al Arabiya television printed in state media.
"But they delayed and the opportunity was lost. Likewise, it was lost with Barak and now the issue has become harder with Sharon," he noted.
Last month, Syria said it wanted peace talks with Israel over the occupied Golan Heights to resume without any preconditions, but Israel, for its part, said it opposed peace talks while Syria hosted "Palestinian militant groups" in Damascus.
