Syria Role Seen in Levin Escape : U.S. ‘Appreciative’ of Damascus’ Influence

The kidnapers of American journalist Jeremy Levin may have intentionally allowed him to escape, and if so, Syria probably deserves much of the credit for his freedom, a senior State Department official said Friday.

The official, who asked not to be identified by name, cited no firm evidence for that conclusion. However, he said there was “some indication” that Levin’s escape was contrived by his kidnapers, believed to be members of the shadowy Islamic Jihad (Islamic Holy War), a Shia Muslim terrorist organization loyal to Iran.

“The Syrians must have played a role,” the official said. “I’m operating from the assumption that whatever happens in the Bekaa Valley is a result of Syrian action.”

Syrian troops control Eastern Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, where Levin was held during his 11-month-long captivity. However, the official quickly added that he did not believe the Syrians were responsible for the journalist’s kidnaping in West Beirut last March.

Levin, a correspondent for Cable News Network, spoke with reporters in Damascus before leaving for Frankfurt, West Germany, where he was reunited with his wife and family. He said that he was able to escape Wednesday night after getting his carelessly fastened chains off and lowering himself from his second floor room on three blankets that he had tied together

After making his way to a highway, Levin said, he ran into Syrian troops who took him into custody. There was no explanation of why he wasn’t pursued by his terrorist captors.

State Department spokesman Edward Djerejian refused to speculate on whether Levin was permitted to get away, but he joined the senior department official in paying tribute to the Damascus regime.

Syrians Played Role

“Let me state very basically that we are very appreciative of the Syrian government’s role in this matter,” Djerejian said. He declined to state just what he thought that role included.

In the past, there have been reports that the Syrians instigated kidnapings and then arranged for the release of the abduction victim on condition that the victim then express suitable appreciation of the Damascus regime.

Four other Americans who disappeared in Lebanon during the last year are still missing. At a press conference in Damascus, Levin said he deduced that four other people were imprisoned with him in the same house, but he did not see the other prisoners and did not know if they were Americans.

The four remaining missing Americans are: William Buckley, a U.S. diplomat; Benjamin Weir, a Presbyterian minister; Father Lawrence Jenco, head of the Catholic Relief Services offices in Beirut, and Peter Kilburn, a librarian at the American University of Beirut.

Djerejian and White House spokesman Larry Speakes, using similar language, refused to speculate on the fate of the four or to discuss U.S. diplomatic efforts on their behalf.

“As for the other hostages, we will not speculate,” Speakes said in Santa Barbara, where President Reagan is spending a holiday weekend at his nearby ranch. “We are pleased that Mr. Levin is free. The safe return of the the four missing Americans remains a top priority and concern of the Administration. . . . We will continue to work quietly for the safe release of the other four.”

Reassessment of Policy

In an other development relating to the Mideast, a State Department official said that if the Soviet Union were to resume diplomatic relations with Israel and permit larger numbers of Soviet Jews to emigrate, the United States would reassess its policy of barring Moscow from the Arab-Israeli peace process.

The official, briefing reporters on preparations for the U.S.-Soviet talks on the Mideast scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday in Vienna, reiterated that the United States anticipates no changes of position on either side.

“We’re not trying . . . to impose a U.S.-Soviet condominium or a U.S.-Soviet plan on the area,” he said.

“We don’t deny that the Soviets have interests in the area. At the same time, we think for them to play a helpful role, there has to be evolution really in their position--and the present Soviet position we don’t see as leading to a helpful role in the peace process.”

New Diplomatic Ties

Such an evolution, he said, might include restoration of diplomatic relations with Israel, broken during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, and an increased Jewish emigration.

“Then, obviously, we would see that as an indication that they are moving in a direction we think is more helpful, and we will just have to reassess it then,” the official said. “But as to whether or not that would be sufficient, I just can’t say.”

Richard W. Murphy, assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern and South Asian affairs, and Vladimir P. Polyakov, chief of the Middle East section of the Soviet Foreign Ministry, will lead their country’s delegations to the Vienna talks.