On Vedrine's talks in Damascus

Sources close to the French delegation accompanying French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine told Monte Carlo Radio that Syrian President Hafez al-Assad is determined to resume negotiations with Israel from the point at which they broke off and that the Syrian officials are not ready to give any concessions concerning sovereignty over the Golan or the waters, that they are also committed to Israel's withdrawal to the June 4, 1967 borders and that they do not want to get into negotiations and then conclude "weak" results.

The same sources said that President al-Assad discussed with Vedrine the question of the Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon, and the two sides exchanged the views on the reflection of such a withdrawal. The sources indicated that the Syrian officials believe that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak will give up his decision to withdraw from Lebanon at the last moment, while Barak is trying to convert the Syrian military presence in south Lebanon from a "pressure paper" into a "winning one."

The sources added that Vedrine expressed to the Syrian officials his conviction that Barak is able to pull out of Lebanon, that this fact should be taken into consideration, and that Barak is able to repel strongly any attacks against northern Israel after Israel's withdrawal from south Lebanon.

The sources said this issue and the question of the Palestinian refugees will be at the heart of Vedrine's talks in Beirut on Friday.