Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al- Muallem said Monday that his country would have another evaluation of a new round of peace talks with Israel after its elections next week with a leader who is willing for a just and comprehensive peace in the region.
If the Israelis elected a leader who "has the will for a just and comprehensive peace through executing United Nations Security Council resolutions", Syria would have another evaluation of peace negotiations with the Jewish state, Muallem told a joint press conference with his visiting Irish counterpart Micheal Martin.
"The people in the region no longer embrace the peace process (after the Israeli war on Gaza). The priority now is how to ease the sufferings of our families in Gaza through lifting the siege, opening crossing points and rebuilding the strip," he added.
After Israel launched military offensive against Gaza in late December, Syria formally suspended indirect peace talks with it that began last May under Turkish mediation.
Muallem also expressed the hope that the European Union would play a role in reconstructing Gaza, urging the EU to review the situation in Gaza and West Bank with pragmatism.
"It is unacceptable to put preconditions, particularly on the people under occupation," asserted Muallem, saying "there is resistance as long as there is occupation."
For his part, Martin said Ireland recognize Syria's important and strategic role to settle the issues in the region, describing his talks with Assad as "active and fruitful".
Earlier in the day, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad underlined the importance of the European role in the region during a meeting with Martin, hoping "proper solutions can be found to the problems " in the Middle East, the official SANA news agency reported.
The two sides discussed the latest developments in the region, particularly the "tragic situation" of the Palestinian people resulting from the Israeli aggression on Gaza.
Four rounds of indirect peace talks between Israel and Syria had been carried out under the mediation of Turkey since last May.
Yet a fifth round, originally planned in September, had been put on hold due to Israel's political turmoil following Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's decision to resign for his corruption scandal.

Peace negotiations between Israel and Syria, still technically at war with each other, foundered in 2000 over the fate of the Golan Heights, a strategic plateau Israel seized in 1967 and annexed in 1981 with no recognition of the international community.
Israel will hold parliamentary elections on Feb. 10. Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right wing Likud Party now leads the opinion polls while the ruling Kadima party of Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni hangs behind.