U.S. Nudging Syria to Play More Helpful Role in Uniting Lebanon

The Reagan Administration seemed to be nudging Syria today to play a more helpful role in the effort toward national reconciliation in Lebanon.

State Department spokesman John Hughes conceded that there are “questions arising about Syria’s behavior and intentions” in Lebanon. At the same time, he stressed that Syria has not suggested to the U.S. that it is “backing away” from its “commitment” in Lebanon toward the cease-fire, now in effect, and the effort to have a meeting aimed at national reconciliation among the various groups.

The fate of that meeting, which was to have begun tomorrow, is now uncertain following the refusal by the Syrians and the Druze to meet at Beirut International Airport, the latest proposed site for the conference.

State Department sources were “uncertain” today if reconciliation efforts have come to the end of the road and fighting will be resumed between the various factions, or whether the situation was in the routine of a step forward and a step backwards which has marked all of the progress made so far in Lebanon.

HIGH LEVEL REVIEW OF U.S. POLICY CONTINUING

Reports from the National Security Council meeting yesterday which discussed the Middle East are that the U.S. believes the Syrians are deliberately impeding progress because they are opposed to a negotiated settlement in Lebanon. State Department officials cautioned that the Administration’s high level review of U.S. policy in the Middle East is continuing and no decisions have been made.

The officials noted that in Lebanon, it is difficult to pinpoint blame for various cease-fire violations. They said the sniper attacks against the U.S. marines were definitely not from Syrian controlled areas but the shelling of the Lebanese army was.

But the officials noted that in both cases it is hard to determine what groups actually did the shooting. They pointed out that even in groups over which Syrian President Hafez Assad is supposed to have control, his “influence” is not total. They said the same holds true for the various militia leaders who do not have total control over their members.

In response to questions, State Department officials denied that the Syrian attitude is an effort to get U.S. pressure on Israel to return the Golan Heights to Syria. One official said the Golan Heights were never a part of the discussions in the current situation in Lebanon. When Hughes was asked what incentives the U.S. can offer Syria to be helpful in Lebanon, he replied: “A stable Lebanon is in the interest of most governments in the region.”