Far from Public’s Probing Eye, Israelis and Syrians Resume Talks

Far from the public eye, Israel and Syria resumed their peace talks this week. In meetings Monday and Tuesday, Itamar Rabinovich, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, and his Syrian counterpart, Walid Muallem, conferred with Dennis Ross, the State Department’ special Middle East coordinator.

The face-to-face meetings are the first since Syria suspended the talks without explanation in December. At the time, talks were progressing with the ambassadors with Israeli and Syrian military chiefs-of-staff, who were meeting to discuss security arrangements for the Golan Heights in the even of an Israeli-Syrian peace agreement.

Secretary of State Warren Christopher secured the resumption of the dialogue during his shuttle visits between Jerusalem and Damascus last week.

Although conducted in an atmosphere of secrecy, the sessions this week reportedly focused on laying the groundwork for the resumption of talks between the military representatives.

Negotiations have stalled as Syria continues to demand Israeli withdrawal from the entire Golan. Israel has said it will not specify the extent of a pullout until Syria spells out its vision of peace.

Rabinovich was scheduled to return to Israel after the meetings concluded Tuesday to brief Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Foreign Minister Shimon Peres.

The Israeli Embassy here sent a confidential report to Rabin and Peres detailing Syrian positions, according to the Israeli daily Ha’aretz.

According to a Syrian source cited in the report, Syria opposes stationing U.S. troops on the Golan to monitor a presumed peace accord, insists on public negotiations and will not accept a Camp David-type demilitarization agreement, Ha’aretz reported.