Aznar conveys message from President al-Assad to Barak
Syria-Israel-Spain, Politics, 7/23/1999

Israeli sources stated that Syrian President Hafez al-Assad has sent a message to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak through the Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar in which President al-Assad replied to the "red lines" proposed by Barak to US President Bill Clinton concerning negotiations with Syria.

The Israeli daily Maariv quoted political sources close to Barak as saying: "Within days it would be possible to define whether Israel and Syria will be able to resume bilateral negotiations, shortly."

The same sources added that Barak proposed details on his plan concerning the Syrian track during his bilateral talks with President Clinton, saying that Barak said he "will restore to Syria the whole of the Golan Heights until the international borders, against tough security measures including minimizing of forces and disarmament into deep areas," in addition to "security guarantees from the US."

However, a report by Maariv on the lines of the religious Israeli Shas party revealed the consent of the majority of the party's members inside the Israeli government and in the Knesset for Israel's withdrawal from the Golan under the conditions of guaranteeing security arrangements and the support of the "council of the wise, led by Rabbi Ofadia Youssef."

Meanwhile, Israeli press sources said that President Clinton spoke on the telephone with President al-Assad and briefed him on the content of his talks with Barak.

The same sources added that the Syrian ambassador in Washington, Walid al-Mu'allim, is currently in Damascus and that he is to head very soon for Washington to hold further talks with the US officials before US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright starts her tour of the Middle East.

Previous Stories:
  Damascus speaks about resuming peace negotiations with Israel soon   (7/22/1999)
  Spanish prime minister in Damascus with business delegation   (7/19/1999)
  Syria did not hold any secret negotiations with Israel   (7/16/1999)

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