Damascus  - US special envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell assured Syria Saturday that the peace the US seeks in the region "is truly comprehensive."

"We seek peace between the Palestinians and Israelis, between Syria and Israel, between Lebanon and Israel and full normalization between Israel and its Arab neighbours," he told reporters following his meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Mitchell arrived in Damascus on Friday for what a US official described as part of a push for "a comprehensive peace" in the Middle East.

Mitchell also discussed bilateral relationship with the Syrian president, stressing that Syria has "an integral role to play" in reaching comprehensive peace.

In what is seen as the latest step in a diplomatic dance between Damascus and Washington, Mitchell stressed that the US seeks "to build on this effort to establish a relationship based on mutual respect and mutual interest" and that "the United States looks forward to this continued dialogue."

Mitchell is the most senior official to visit the country since US relations with Syria have been strained following the assassination of former Lebanese premier Rafik Hariri in
2005, which Damascus was accused of masterminding.

Since US President Barack Obama took office last January, the US administration has been holding talks with Syria.

The Syrian and the US governments both say they welcome increased dialogue between the two countries, but both say improved relations will depend on concrete policy changes.

The Syrian government would like to see an end to unilateral US sanctions on the country and US support for its claim to the Golan Heights, a strategically important plateau at the border between Syria, Lebanon, and Israel that Israel occupied during the 1967 Arab- Israeli war.

The US government faults Syria for hosting Hamas and other Palestinian groups it lists as terrorist organizations in Damascus and for supporting Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Former US President Jimmy Carter was in the Syrian capital for talks with al-Assad and Hamas political leaders exiled there on Thursday.

"It's my hope that we can also see full diplomatic relations and friendship restored between Damascus and Washington at an early day in the new year," he told reporters after his meeting with al-Assad.

Mitchell's visit to Syria was the latest stop in a tour of the region. Earlier on Friday, Mitchell, who has Lebanese roots, discussed the results of last week's parliamentary elections with Lebanese President Michel Suleiman in Beirut.

Mitchell assured the Lebanese president that achieving peace in the Middle East will not be at Beirut's expense.

"Clearly there can be no lasting peace solution reached at Lebanon's expense and we look forward to continuing to work with Lebanon to build this solution," Mitchell said. (dpa)