US deal to convince Damascus returning back to negotiation table
Syria-Israel-USA, Politics, 9/1/1999

Arab diplomatic sources in Cairo revealed what they called a US deal to be carried by US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to Damascus during her forthcoming tour to the region in order to convince Damascus to return to the negotiating table with Israel.

The sources told the Kuwaiti daily al-Rai al-Am issued on Tuesday that Albright will hold important consultations with Israeli officials concerning this deal before heading for Damascus.

According to these sources, the US offer carried by Albright to Damascus has several important points, including lifting Syria's name from the US State Department's list of the terrorism-sponsoring states, a list which includes seven countries, including four Arab states.

The sources said that the US offer also calls for providing aid to Syria in backing its development plans and convincing the US companies and the private sector to invest in Syria and implement joint venture projects.

These sources, however, ruled out that Albright will convince Damascus to return to the negotiating table without a clear and frank announcement by the Israeli government on readiness to maintain full withdrawal from the Golan to the June 4, 1967 border line.

The sources did not rule out that Albright will assign the US Middle East peace process coordinator, Dennis Ross, to carry out shuttle tours between Damascus and Tel Aviv to overcome points of dispute toward determining the point the negotiations had reached between Damascus and the former Labor government in Israel.

The sources, furthermore, revealed US attempts to convene a bilateral summit bringing together Syrian President Hafez al-Assad and Israeli Prime Minister hud Barak, adding that Albright is seeking for Washington to host the beginning of "a Syrian-Israeli dialogue" and a meeting on the level of the Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa and his Israeli counterpart, David Levy, to prepare for the summit between al-Assad and Barak.

The sources considered these US moves in this respect as premature, especially as there is no important development in Barak's stand that reflects his seriousness in following in the footsteps of his two predecessors, the late Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres.

Previous Stories:
  Shaath: No disputes with Syria   (8/30/1999)
  Syrian - Dutch relations highlighted   (8/27/1999)
  Norwegian foreign minister arrives in Damascus   (8/25/1999)
  Syrian newspapers hail Albright's statements   (8/20/1999)

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