JERUSALEM - Israel and Syria have officially confirmed they are holding indirect peace talks, eight years after negotiations broke down over the disputed Golan Heights.

The two governments announced separately Wednesday that Turkey has been mediating the efforts to reach a comprehensive peace agreement.

Turkey’s foreign minister Ali Babacan said last month that his country has been facilitating communication between Israel and Syria for more than a year.

Israel and Syria have been in a conflict over the Golan Heights since 1967, when Israel captured the strategic plateau and mountainous region from Syria during the Six Day War. Israel officially annexed the area in 1981.

The countries have attempted peace talks in the past, but those efforts broke down in 2000 because of disagreements over the terms of an Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said in April that Turkey had relayed a message from Israel offering to return the Golan Heights to Syria in exchange for lasting peace.

Israel has not confirmed that offer.

The Golan Heights lies within, or borders, Israel, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.

Source:  VOA News