Joseph Sisco, Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs in the Ford Administration, said today that in order for the Middle East peace process to succeed Syria has to be brought into the negotiations.
“Over the next two or three or four years, as you look ahead, there is going to be a reckoning between Syria and Israel,” he said in answering questions from foreign correspondents here. “I think all of us would agree that it is far preferable for this reckoning to occur politically rather than other wise.”
But Sisco, noting the present situation in the Middle East is “stalemated,” said no progress will be made this year and any moves will have to wait until 1985. “This is less a function of a Presidential campaign year in the United States,” he emphasized, “but much more a reflection of the erosion that has occurred in the area generally, plus the fact that none of the principal actors on the scene are really in a position to make a significant move.”
‘THIRD PARTY’ U.S. ROLE IS INDISPENSABLE
While conceding that the U.S. has suffered a “setback,” in the Mideast because of Lebanon, Sisco said he does not view this as a “permanent enfeeblement of American policy.” He stressed that there is no substitute for the “third party role” of the U.S. because it is indispensable not only for its diplomatic efforts but because its military power helps insure the security of Israel, Jordan and Saudi Arabia as well as the Persian Gulf.
“The time will come when Washington will be pressed once again, particularly by the Arab world, to reactivate its diplomacy in the peace process,” Sisco said. But he urged the U.S. at present to study the various options quietly and not make any public moves unless there is a chance of success. “The next move has got to be carefully prepared and its got to succeed,” he declared.
URGES EXPANSION OF U.S.-ISRAEL STRATEGIC COOPERATION
Sisco said that the strategic cooperation agreement between Israel and the United States is good but has to be expanded to include not just military issues but political ones as well. He urged the need for resuming the consultations that once had existed between the U.S. and Israel over various political issues.
Sisco noted that under both Democratic and Republican Administrations there existed a “continuity” in Mideast policy which included the “American commitment to the security and survival” of Israel and the effort to strengthen relations with “at least those Arab countries that are committed to the principle of live and let live and co-existence.”
He pointed out that in Israel there was also a bi-partisan foreign policy based on maintaining Jerusalem as its capital and opposition to a Palestinian state. He noted that the difference between the governing Likud and the opposition Labor Alignment over negotiations was really “moot” as long as Jordan refused to enter negotiations.
While saying that Jerusalem “must remain united,” Sisco said that the proposed bill in Congress to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem would not be “helpful” to the present situation.
REAGANS 1982 INITIATIVE ‘STILL RELEVANT’
He stressed that the principles outlined in President Reagan’s September 1, 1982 peace initiative are “still relevant and are going to have to be addressed.” He said the U.S. under all Administrations has adhered to the “territory for peace” formula. He said this was the basis for the Reagan plan, the Camp David accords, the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty and the three disengagement agreements between Israel and Egypt and Israel and Syria.
On Syria, Sisco said he had met with President Hafez Assad 20 to 25 times and believes he is a strong Syrian nationalist. He said that while Syria is “dependent” on the Soviet Union it was not acting in Lebanon as a hostage or surrogate for the USSR but in its own national interests.
But Sisco added that he does not believe that Syria will be able to totally dominate Lebanon. He said the Lebanese “of all principal stripes” want to find a Lebanese solution and if they do so and are able to restore Lebanon’s sovereignty over all its territory, this will require the “ultimate withdrawal of all extraneous forces.” But Sisco said he did not believe there would be any progress in Lebanon this year nor would the withdrawal of Israeli and Syrian forces come in 1984.
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