The recent announcement from Israel and Syria that they are engaged in negotiations for a comprehensive peace treaty through Ankara took some by surprise. However, in retrospect perhaps there was no reason for the surprise. Syria seeks to regain the Golan Heights captured by Israel in the 1967 war and it also wants to re--establish a relationship with Washington. In its view, the best hope of reestablishing full ties with the US would be through talks with Israel. Economic reasons also motivate Damascus; this relates to the fact that the Syrian economy, unlike its GCC counterparts, is sluggish and needs significant amounts of foreign currency to kickstart the local economy. However Syria understands that no international investor would make a large investment into a country not at peace with its neighbours. In addition, there are other domestic constraints compelling Damascus towards a peace settlement with Israel. Political repression combined with poor economic prospects results in the minority Alawite regime facing the brunt of popular anger. One form of this popular anger is the emergence of radical Islam. According to Syrian Vice President Farouk Shara, radical Islam constitutes a threat to Syria and a peace deal with Israel is the only way to halt it. Presumably this would necessitate greater security cooperation between Israel and Syria on this issue.
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by Moderator @ 03:18 PM CST [Link]