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Clinton: U.S. to push for Israel-Syria reconciliation By Natasha Mozgovaya and Barak Ravid Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stressed during her visit to Ankara that the United States would like to see a resumption of the talks between Israel and Syria. However, in closed talks Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu said he prefers to give priority to the Palestinian track over the Syrian one. The importance of indirect peace talks between Syria and Israel "cannot be overstated," Clinton said at the end of a meeting with her Turkish counterpart Ali Babacan. For his part, Babacan said that if Israel and Syria asked for Turkish assistance in mediating the talks, Ankara would be glad to oblige. Advertisement The visiting American Secretary of State praised Turkey's mediation role, saying that "the importance of this track, the peace effort, cannot be overstated. Turkey has played a very important role." However, despite the declarations in Ankara about the importance of the Syrian track, Netanyahu does not appear to share this view. In talks with a number of foreign ministers and diplomats in the past two weeks, the prime minister-designate said that he would give priority to the Palestinian track. However, once Netanyahu assumes office he might change his view, since the Syrian track is, in terms of internal party and coalition politics, easier for him and could be part of the broader international effort to contain Iran's nuclear program through closer ties between Washington and Damascus. Clinton also said that President Barack Obama will visit Turkey next month, thus fulfilling his election pledge to visit a Muslim state within the first 100 days of his presidency. "His decision was reached late yesterday in Washington and we are very excited that the president will be coming to Turkey. The exact date will be announced shortly," she said, adding the visit reflected the value the U.S. places on its ties with predominantly Muslim Turkey. Meanwhile, senior U.S. State Department officials held talks in Damascus yesterday with Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem, the highest-level meetings between representatives of the two countries since 2005. The U.S. withdrew its ambassador to Syria in 2005 following the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The killing in Beirut was widely blamed on Syria - a charge Damascus denies. Acting Assistant Secretary of State Jeffrey Feltman said he and National Security Council official Daniel Shapiro discussed bilateral relations, and the talks were described as having been "very constructive." "We discussed a broad range of issues, regional, international and bilateral issues and how we can move forward in a variety of ways," Feltman told reporters from Damascus. "We have areas where our interests overlap, we have areas where our interests differ." "We will be looking at the choices Syria makes, and Syria will be looking at the choices we make in the days to come," Feltman said, adding that both Washington and Damascus would be "looking for more opportunities" to talk in the coming weeks. "This is part of a process and we will see how this develops," he said. Syria, for its part, said the two sides were in agreement on the "importance of continuing the dialogue to achieve goals that serve common interests and bring about peace and stability to the region," according to the official news agency SANA. Feltman said an Israel-Syria peace track is part of the Obama administration's vision for a comprehensive peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors, and promised "there will be a Syrian-Israel track at some point," but that a new Israeli government must be formed before the United States decides its next steps. Before their visit to Syria yesterday, the senior U.S. envoys met with Lebanese officials in Beirut to reassure them of Washington's continued support. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Surprise victory Israel defeats Sweden 3-2 to advance to Davis Cup tennis quarterfinals. Nuclear threshold MI chief: Iran has crossed 'technological threshold' in quest for nukes

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