Senior U.S. diplomat in Syria in effort to restart peace talks

Senior United States diplomat Fredric Hof on Thursday met with Syrian officials in Damascus to discuss "a true and lasting peace in the region," an official familiar with the talks said.

Washington and the European Union have frequently said they seek a "comprehensive peace" in the region, including between Israel and Syria. Syria is a close ally of Iran, and hosts political leaders of hard-line Palestinian factions, including Hamas, in Damascus.

Hof, a deputy to U.S. President Barack Obama's Mideast peace envoy, George Mitchell, would aim to create "a true and lasting peace in the region, especially following the parliamentary elections in Iraq that took place earlier this month," an official close to the talks told the German Press Agency DPA, speaking on condition of anonymity.

A delegation of "various specialists" joined Hof for the discussions with Syrian diplomats, the official said.

Hof visited Damascus in July 2009, when he met with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Walid al-Moallem. Obama last month appointed Robert Ford as the first US ambassador to Damascus in five years. His appointment is currently awaiting approval from the US Senate.

Former U.S. President George W. Bush withdrew his ambassador following the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005.

Many in Washington hope Syria can be lured out of its alliance with Iran, and to apply pressure on Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, and on the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah. Syria has close relations with both groups, both of which the United States lists as terrorist organizations.

Syrian officials have insisted that any peace agreement with Israel must include the latter's withdrawal to within its 1967 borders