Syrian-Israeli negotiations to start January 3
Syria-Israel-USA, Politics, 12/17/1999

US President Bill Clinton received Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa on Thursday at the White House and asked him to convey a message to Syrian President Hafez al-Assad.

Talks during the meeting dealt with the results of the Syrian-Israeli peace talks that were resumed on Wednesday between the Syrian and Israeli delegations with the participation of US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

On Thursday night in Washington the first round of Syrian-Israeli talks were concluded in a meeting held by US President Bill Clinton at the White House with al-Sharaa and members of his accompanying delegation and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and his companions.

During the meeting, President Clinton expressed his total satisfaction with the results reached in the first round of Syrian- Israeli talks.

The US president stressed that the US administration will continue its contacts with the sides concerned during the coming phase with the purpose of good preparations and necessary consultations to convene the coming round of talks.

In a press statement he made at the conclusion of the talks, the US president announced at the White House that the Syrian-Israeli talks will be resumed on January 3 near Washington on the grounds of UN Security Council resolutions 242 and 338 which call for Israel's withdrawal from the occupied Arab territories.

President Clinton added that talks between the Syrian and Israeli sides will also be held on the grounds of the Madrid conference terms of reference.

The US president continued that the Syrian and Israeli sides had agreed to take necessary steps to ensure the progress of negotiations in a friendly and positive atmosphere. He said the coming phase will be difficult and hard, but the two sides can rely on the US on every step of this road.

President Clinton continued, "We are witnessing a new beginning in the effort to achieve a comprehensive peace in the Middle East. With Syrian-Israeli negotiations off to a good start, Israeli-Lebanese negotiations expected to begin soon, and the Palestinian track well underway, we can truly set our sights on a new and different Middle East."

Clinton indicated that the Syrians and the Israelis agreed not to look back to the conflict and war. He said, "I want Israel and Syria to know they can count on the United States every step of the way."

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said that the Syrian - Israeli negotiations which lasted for two days were very serious and constructive.

In a statement she read following the first round of talks she said, "Well, we have just concluded two days of very serious, and I think constructive discussions. And what came through to the President and to me was really a very clear determination by both of the sides to reach an agreement."

The second day of talks yesterday, which were held at the Blair House near the White House in Washington, started with a meeting between al-Sharaa and Albright.

Previous Stories:
  President Clinton opens Syrian - Israeli negotiations opened in Washington   (12/16/1999)
  On the resumption of Syrian-Israeli peace talks   (12/16/1999)
  Syrian - Israeli talks kick off in Washington   (12/15/1999)

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