U.S. Peace Envoy in Jerusalem to Boost Israeli-Syrian Talks

JERUSALEM â€”  Dennis Ross, the U.S. Middle East peace coordinator, arrived here Thursday hoping to arrange a fresh round of security talks between Israel and Syria amid heightened expectations of a breakthrough on the most troubled front of Arab-Israeli negotiations.

Ross brought with him Lt. Gen. Daniel Christman, a senior aide of Gen. John M. Shalikashvili, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on what is expected to be four days of shuttle diplomacy between Jerusalem and Damascus. They met with Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and the Israeli army chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Amnon Lipkin-Shahak, for several hours.

Israel Television reported Thursday night that the United States indicated that an Israeli-Syrian peace treaty could be concluded before the end of September.

Ross reportedly is exploring a U.S. proposal that Washington and Israel--and possibly Syria--jointly staff early-warning stations on the Golan Heights if Israel relinquishes the plateau to Syria in the framework of an overall peace accord.

Progress in the talks has been stymied because Israel has insisted on maintaining some presence on the plateau, and Syria has insisted that the Israelis completely withdraw. Israeli officials say the proposal for joint monitoring stations is workable, but Syria’s views are unknown.

Israeli officials have frequently expressed frustration over what they call Syrian President Hafez Assad’s unwillingness to compromise, and Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Itamar Rabinovich, expressed those sentiments again Thursday after participating in Ross’ talks with Rabin.

“I hope that this will be a visit which looks forward and is not fixated on an argument which could have been concluded two or three weeks ago,� Rabinovich told reporters, referring to the monitoring stations.

It also is not clear how Congress would react to such a deep U.S. involvement in guaranteeing an Israeli-Syrian peace agreement.

Although President Clinton has promised that the United States would participate in a multinational peacekeeping force on the Golan if one were needed, some members of Congress have expressed reservations about any U.S. monitoring role.

Congressional members oppose U.S. involvement for security and budgetary reasons. They argue that any breakdown in the peace accord could embroil the United States in an Israeli-Syrian war, that U.S. troops on the Golan could be a target of terrorist attacks and that a U.S. deployment might last for years and cost millions.

During his shuttle between Jerusalem and Damascus, Ross hopes to conclude an agreement in principle that would pave the way for the Israeli and Syrian chiefs of staff to meet in Washington next month and begin fleshing out a security accord.

Ross plans to meet with Assad this afternoon after holding talks with Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres in Jerusalem. Ross is expected to return to Israel on Saturday and report Assad’s views to Rabin on Sunday morning.