Former US diplomat: Syria will not sign peace agreement that does not provide for restoring the whole Golan
Syria-Israel-USA, Politics, 10/21/1999

A former high-ranking US diplomat has announced that achieving progress on the Syrian-Israeli track requires an effective US role on top levels.

In a report from Washington the London-Based al-Quds al-Arabi daily said that the US diplomat, who talked in a closed-door meeting in Washington, indicated that Syria will not sign a peace agreement with Israel unless it restores the whole of the Golan. He added that it is difficult to practice pressures on Syria in order to subjugate it to the Israeli negotiating conditions.

The paper added, quoting the US diplomat, that the economic conditions in Syria are not weak and that Syria has strong diplomatic and political relations with Europe and Japan. He added that the Syrian stand is not weak as certain sides think.

Upon talking about security arrangements in the Golan, the paper reported that the US official said Syrian President Hafez al-Assad will not at all permit Israeli forces on the Syrian side of the border and is persistent to have withdrawals exchanged, equal and comprehensive, adding that the Americans and the Israelis are working to ignore these conditions.

Previous Stories:
  Paper: Washington plans on a purchase of the Golan   (10/16/1999)
  The US and the Syrian track   (9/30/1999)
  Negotiations on the Syrian-Israeli track to resume next month, Albright says   (9/29/1999)

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