Damascus  - There is no time to waste on laying the groundwork for Middle East peace, German Foreign Minister Frank- Walter Steinmeier said in Syria on Tuesday.

Another year mustn't slip by before this work starts, he said after meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem in the capital Damascus.

As such, he called on Syria's leadership to do what it can toward that end, noting that efforts must be made to "keep the region's destructive might must be kept to a minimum."

He specifically named Hezbollah, a Lebanese-based organization that draws support from Syria, as well as the radical Islamist Palestinian Hamas movement.

During a bilateral meeting with al-Assad, the two leaders were unable to come to agreement about the possibility of the resumption of Israeli-Syrian contacts. Those were suspended after Israel's military assault on the Gaza Strip earlier this year.

Steinmeier said he has doubts whether a Turkish mediator can make any advances in this area.

Al-Moallem said there was only a limited window of opportunity to achieve Middle East peace and said Israel was wasting time. At the same time, he said Syria would not give up its claim to the Golan Heights, occupied by Israel since 1967.

Earlier in the day, Israeli President Simon Peres, while visiting Egypt, said that Israel would not hand the Heights over to Syria on a "silver platter."

Steinmeier is scheduled to next visit Lebanon, where he is supposed to meet with prime minister-designate Saad Hariri later Tuesday.(dpa)