In a diplomatic breakthrough, an Israeli official visiting Germany met here last week with Syria’s ambassador to this country for a private half-hour meeting.
Although Israeli and Syrian officials have been meeting for the bilateral peace talks in Washington, it is unprecedented for the countries to publicly acknowledge any formal contact with each other outside the framework of the peace negotiations.
Walid Zadek, an Arab who serves as Israel’s deputy agriculture minister, said he met privately with Syria’s ambassador to Germany, Michel Chadad, during a Jan. 22 reception given by German President Richard von Weizsacker.
Zadek was in Berlin to attend the international agricultural fair “Green Week” and was invited by von Weizsacker to attend a reception at his official Berlin residence for delegates to the fair.
Zadek said Chadad had agreed to publicly disclose the meeting and Syrian Embassy officials indirectly confirmed it as well.
According to Zadek, Chadad called upon Israelis to recognize that the Syrian people and their leader, President Hafez Assad, are interested in a just and long-lasting peace.
The Syrian diplomat stressed that this desire was genuine, and not just a political ploy, Zadek said.
But Chadad also cautioned Israel not to ask for the impossible and claimed the Golan Heights belonged to Syria.
Chadad added that a peace agreement between the two countries should not demand that ambassadors be immediately exchanged. The Syrian described such a request as being strange, given the long and bloody history of conflict, Zadek recounted.
Chadad explained to Zadek that Syrian public opinion must be changed gradually before that degree of normal relations could be established.
At the agricultural fair, Zadek was warmly received at the information stands of several Arab countries.
The Moroccans offered him kosher red wine, and an Egyptian dealer asked Zadek to look into the possibility of cooperation with Israel in marketing.
Jordanian Crown Prince Hassan visited the Jordanian exhibit at the same time as Zadek, but the two did not talk privately.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
