A well placed source said today that it may take 2-3 months before any real progress is made in disengagement talks with Syria and termed Defense Minister Moshe Dayan’s trip to Washington which the Cabinet approved yesterday a “pre-embryonic stage” of the talks. No date has been set for Dayan’s Washington visit and it is not clear whether it will precede or follow the arrival there of a Syrian representative with Damascus’ disengagement plan. (President Hafez Assad was reported today to have named Syria’s delegate to meet with Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger on disengagement.)
Observers here who believe the path to an Israeli-Syrian separation of forces agreement will be a long one, say the main obstacle to an accord will be territorial issues. Israel remains adamant that disengagement with Syria must be effected only in the territory Israel conquered in the Yom Kippur War and will not withdraw an inch from the Golan Heights territory seized in the Six-Day War of 1967. The fact that Israeli leaders have not reiterated this position publicly in recent weeks is seen as a tactical move to avoid needlessly hardening the Syrian position rather than any softening of the Israeli stance on the issue.
Another anticipated obstacle to a disengagement accord is Syria’s demand and Israel’s refusal to link it to a timetable for Israeli withdrawal from the entire Golan Heights. Officials here say the only linkage Israel will agree to is an undertaking by both sides to negotiate a final peace settlement.
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