Al-Shara confers with Bishara

Israeli Radio stated on Tuesday that Israeli Knesset member Azmi Bishara met on Monday evening in Damascus with Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Shara following al-Shara's return from Beirut after he had talks with Lebanese President Emile Lahoud.

In a statement to the Lebanese daily al-Hayat issued on Tuesday, Bishara stated that he gave the Syrian minister a precise description of the developments of the Israeli situation internally towards the debated developments, after the negotiation stalemate on the Syrian track.

The paper stated that talks between Bishara and al-Shara dealt with the Israeli project for withdrawal from south Lebanon and the results of the Geneva summit between Syrian President Hafez al-Assad and US President Bill Clinton.

Meanwhile, Israeli Radio on Tuesday quoted the Israeli daily Maariv as saying that a foreign political source indicated that Bishara's meetings in Damascus are linked to preparations for new political developments that might be conducive to resuming negotiations between Syria and Israel with an American mediation.

The paper indicated that Bishara will hold several meetings in Damascus with high-ranking Syrian officials and will discuss the question of negotiations on the Syrian- Israeli track.