Syrian stance on resuming negotiations
Syria-Israel, Politics, 12/9/1999

Damascus prefers to transfer the negotiations to Jordan, due to the role Jordan had recently played, and is preparing for such a possibility. But Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak prefers Egypt to be a venue for the negotiations.

Observers say that resuming negotiations between Syria and Israel may eliminate tension between the two sides over Israel's announcement of its determination to withdraw unilaterally from south Lebanon by July, stating that a withdrawal will not be then directed against Syria.

Moreover, Syrian official sources asserted that the "resumption of negotiations from the point they broke off" is a victory for the long-lived policy pursued by Damascus since negotiations were stopped in 1996.

The Syrian political sources said that the point where the negotiations stopped implies the deposit of the late Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, which means just speaking about the point where negotiations halted the deposit will be included, with "titles for the security arrangements and its principles," in a way that deals with 80% of the arrangements.

Moreover, Western diplomatic sources in Damascus stated that the "flexibility shown by the Syrian and Israeli side had permitted the resumption of negotiations." The sources noted that it is the first time in which, "Syria agrees to raise the level of negotiations to this level," with Foreign Minsiter al-Sharaa to represent the Syrian side, a matter which Israel had worked for and which was refused by Damascus, before "achieving a tangible progress in the peace process," as Damascus used to say.

The Western sources in Damascus added that the second point on which Syria seems to be flexible is the transfer of negotiations from Washington, in the second phase, to Amman, as had been recently leaked, especially as King Abdullah II had played an important role, as it seemed in the indirect Syrian-Israeli consultations during the few past months.

The western diplomatic sources in Damascus made it clear that "Barak has agreed to return the whole of the Golan until June 4, 1967," though he had said that resuming negotiations is made without preconditions, a matter
which Syria and Washington understand," because "it evades the Israeli government the danger of internal extremism in Israel."

The Syrian political sources did not clarify details of the "flexibility" showed by Damascus. But it is believed that such flexibility pertainings to the 10 questions conveyed by President Clinton to Syria and to security, the Hizbullah Party, the timing of withdrawal and economic and diplomatic relations following peace.

Previous Stories:
  Clinton: Talks to restart between Syria and Israel   (12/8/1999)
  Israel called on to abide by UN resolutions over the Golan   (12/8/1999)
  The real diplomatic battle between Syria and Israel, report   (12/7/1999)

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