Quote: "If Syria once again became a player, the prime minister believes, many roads to peace can be opened. Mr Blair - who visited the region in September - is convinced that Syria could hold the key to peace in the Middle East, in that it has great influence over Hamas, the democratically elected government of Palestine, as well as over Hizbullah in Lebanon, and some of the Shia insurgency in Iraq. Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal is based in Damascus, and probably has the power to release captured Israeli soldiers, one of the barriers to the reopening of peace talks between Israel and Palestine. 

Javier Solana also recently announced he would revisit the Middle East in late November or early December. And I believe Bashar Assad will eventually agree to a peace deal with Israel. Assad knows he cannot win a war with Israel, but seeks to regain the Golan Heights in the same way Egypt regained the Sinai. If the international community could give Syria assurances over the Golan, Assad may just be willing to come to the negotiating table.

Source Guardian