Indyk will not seek Damascus to amend April Understanding

In its Thursday report on the visit of the US Undersecretary of State Martin Indyk to Syria, the BBC said this visit is the first by a US official of such a rank during 1999.

The radio noted that Syrian-US contacts have been continuous through visits to Syria made by several US congressmen. The BBC quoted several unidentified US officials as saying that they do not think a genuine progress will be made in the Middle East peace process before the end of the Israeli elctions.

The radio report quoted Syrian observers as saying that Indyk's visit to Syria complies with the policy of collecting information made by the US administration, noting that Indyk wants to know whether President Hafez al-Assad, under the pressures of the Turkish-Israeli alliance, has changed his position concerning demands for full Israeli withdrawal from the Golan.

The BBC also quoted unofficial US sources as saying that the main objective of the visit is to "improve Syrian-US relations."

Meanwhile, Western diplomatic sources in Beirut told the London-based al-Hayat daily that they ruled out success for the Israeli attempt to amend the "April Understanding" or that the US administration will likely make efforts during the visit of Indyk to Syria on Sunday.

The sources added that the Syrian and Lebanese stances precluded any possibility to propose such an amendment.