Medvedev: U.S. Failing in Mideast Peace Push

This story was filed by CBS News' George Baghdadi in Damascus.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev vowed Tuesday to push hard for a Middle East peace agreement, something he accused the Obama administration of failing to do.

"I think it is high time we do something on the ground. The situation is getting worse," the Russian leader told reporters on the second and final day of his historic visit to the Syrian capital.

"We have the basic foundation to move on but the problem is lack of the political will," Medvedev said during a joint press conference with Syrian President Basher Al-Assad in Damascus.

Above: Syrian President Bashar Assad, right, speaks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, left, at the presidential palace, in Damascus, Syria, May 11, 2010.

"I would say that the U.S. administration is not currently working to further peace," Medvedev said in reply to a question on what Moscow can do to ease the tension between Syria and Israel.

"Russia will do whatever it can to push peace forward. It will continue its contacts to resume stalled negotiations and achieve aspired goals. We cannot stand still because the situation is extremely negative."

Along with the U.S., European Union and the United Nations, Russia is a member of the international "Quartet" seeking peace in the Middle East and has long lobbied to host a Middle East peace conference.

Medvedev's visit to Damascus was the first-ever to Syria by a Russian head of state, reflecting Moscow's interest in becoming a more prominent member of the quartet.

Analysts say Russia's influence in the Middle East will in many ways depend on its relations with Syria, an increasingly important regional player with direct ties to Iran, Hezbollah and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which has its political headquarters in Damascus.

Medvedev's high-powered delegation focused on the military, with officials saying Russia and Syria should develop their defense ties.

Assad hoped Russia would, "encourage the U.S. broker to move fast" and convince the Israelis of the importance of peace in the region for all.

Syrian media have welcomed the visit. The government newspaper Tishrin on Monday hailed Russia's "growing role" in the Middle East, especially in the context of Washington's "failure to protect stability and world peace, because of its flagrant bias" toward Israel.

Medvedev and Assad pledged in the news conference to put a major focus on the settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict, calling on Israel to withdraw from the Syrian Golan Heights as well as all other Arab lands occupied in June 1967.

Neither president commented on any Israeli message to Syria. Israeli President Shimon Peres was said to have relayed a message to Assad, after his talks in Moscow on Sunday, that Tel Aviv was not interested in a confrontation with Damascus, nor did Israel intend to escalate tensions along its shared border with Syria.

Turkey, Medevdev's next port of call after Damascus, brokered indirect negotiations between Syria and Israel in 2008 but they were ended when Israel launched a devastating offensive against the Gaza Strip that December.

The Russian President also promised Russian help in developing Syria's oil and gas infrastructure as Damascus seeks to restore its role as a major transit route between the Gulf and the Mediterranean.

"Cooperation on atomic energy (with Syria) could get a second wind," Medvedev said at the press conference, giving no further details.

Assad and Medvedev called on Israel - owner of the Middle East's only (if officially unconfirmed) nuclear arsenal - to "join the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty as a non-nuclear state," underlining their commitment to reaching a peaceful diplomatic settlement to the Iranian nuclear program.

Syria is also rumored to be interested in acquiring advanced Russian-made Iskander surface-to-surface missiles, though it was not confirmed if this was on the official agenda.

The Soviet Union was once Syria's main weapons supplier, leaving Damascus saddled with a $13.4 billion arms-sales debt at the end of the cold war in 1990. In 2005, Russia wrote off almost three quarters of the debt, launching a new era of improved cooperation and fresh arms deals.

During the past five years, the Syrian leader has visited Russia three times. His latest visit took place in August 2008, when he met Medvedev in the Black Sea city of Sochi.