By SPA,
Dubai, United Arab Emirates : Syrian President Bashar Assad says peace talks with Israel need U.S. sponsorship.
In an interview with several Emirati newspapers that appeared Tuesday, Assad said the talks are still in a preliminary stage and U.S. involvement is needed at a later stage.
Assad, who also said Israel, must return all Syrian land as part of the peace deal, is currently touring the Gulf region.
Israel and Syria have announced that they had resumed peace talks after more than a year of indirect contacts through Turkish mediators.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Monday that Washington has yet to be approached for a role in the Syrian-Israeli talks and indicated that it wants for now to focus on the Palestinian-Israeli track, the Associated Press reported.