Visiting EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana yesterday expressed satisfaction over the indirect peace talks between Syria and Israel through Turkey's mediation, local official SANA news agency reported.

"Our persistent position is to achieve a comprehensive peace in the region and the Europeans would like to be instrumental in this process," Solana was quoted as saying upon his arrival here on Wednesday evening.

During his two-day stay, Solana will hold talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on the latest developments in the region and Syrian-EU relations, according to SANA.

Solana is currently on a Middle East tour which has taken him to the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Syria and Israel have conducted four rounds of indirect peace talks under the auspices of Turkey since May. But the fifth round had been postponed twice due to the volatile politics in Israel.

The key issue between the two neighbors remains the strategic Golan Heights, which Israel seized from Syria in the 1967 Six Day War and annexed in 1981, a move not recognized by the international community.