EU role comes after maintaining a peace agreement between Syria and Israel

Western diplomatic sources in Damascus said that the European Union's Middle East peace process coordinator, Miguel Moratinos, is exerting efforts to play a role in the second round of peace negotiations between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa, adding that Moratinos will arrive in Damascus to discuss this matter with Syrian officials.

The Western diplomatic sources ruled out the acceptance of sides concerned for a "big European role" in the bilateral negotiations through Moratinos' participation in the coming Shepherdstown, West Virginia negotiations starting on January 3, 2000, because the "Syrians and the Israelis only want the US participation in the bilateral negotiations."

However, the sources stated that the European role "will come later through the participation in monitoring water resources in the Golan and establishing joint projects with the two sides or financing bilateral projects, as well as the individual participation of EU member states in the UN forces which will be deployed in the Golan after the Israeli withdrawal."