U.S. Blocks Israel-Syria Talks admin, May 1, 2007January 9, 2025 Foreign Policy in Focus/Institute for Policy Studies,May 1, 2007 By John Feffer, Stephen Zunes. Even as American officials reluctantly agreed last month to include Syrian representatives in multiparty talks on Iraqi security issues, the Bush administration continues to block Israel from resuming negotiations with Syria over its security concerns. In 2003, President Bashar al-Assad offered to resume peace talks with Israel where they had left off three years earlier, but Israel, backed by the Bush administration, refused. Assad eventually agreed to reenter peace negotiations without preconditions, but even these overtures were rejected. [Source] Diplomacy FPIF Commentary Israel and Palestine Peace Process Syria US Middle East Policy