U.S. Asks Syria to Avoid Clash, Shift Missiles

The Reagan Administration, moving to head off any new warfare between Israel and Syria, has advised Syrian President Hafez Assad that the easiest way to avoid a clash would be to bow to Israeli demands and withdraw anti-aircraft missiles from his western border, officials said Monday.

U.S. diplomats in the Mideast have been relaying messages between Jerusalem and Damascus--and, on occasion, tacitly mediating between the two countries--in an attempt to ease the standoff, the officials said.

Syria moved anti-aircraft batteries to both sides of the border with Lebanon last month after Israeli jets shot down two Syrian MIG-23 jet fighters inside Syrian airspace Nov. 19.

Warning by Israel

On Sunday, Israel’s government publicly denounced the move, saying that the missiles threaten Israeli reconnaissance flights over neighboring Lebanon and hinting that it might destroy the missile batteries if they are not removed.

The Administration, meanwhile, urged both sides to keep cool.

“The United States opposes any escalation of tensions or resort to military force,” State Department spokesman Charles Redman said, reading an official statement. “Such actions would not be in the interests of Israel, Lebanon, Syria or the United States. Accordingly, we have called on Israel and Syria to exercise restraint.”

In private contacts with the Syrians, U.S. diplomats have relayed Israeli assurances that the Nov. 19 shooting was an error and would not be repeated, officials said.

And they have suggested that Syria could avoid a new escalation of hostilities by quietly moving the missiles out of range of Lebanese airspace, they said.

“We cannot tell them where to station their missiles on their territory,” one official said. “But we can point out the dangers of the situation and convey messages.

“We can point out to the Syrians that redeployment (of the missiles) is the most likely resolution and the one that would most likely serve their interests without a loss of face,” he said.

But he said Israel’s public warning to the Syrians over the issue had made it more difficult to defuse the tension.

“The Syrians have been publicly challenged by the Israelis, and their people know that,” he said. “They have to respond. They can’t back down in public.”

Israel’s air force flies regular reconnaissance missions over Lebanon to inspect Syrian, Lebanese and Palestinian military activity, despite protests from the government in Beirut. The Nov. 19 incident was unusual, however, because Israel’s planes shot down the two Syrian jets over Syrian territory--not Lebanese.

Missiles Moved Into Lebanon

Syria responded initially by moving mobile SAM-6 and SAM-8 missiles into Lebanon and shifting three batteries of fixed SAM-2 missiles, with a range of 25 to 35 miles, to Syrian territory along the border, Israeli officials have said.

Later, however, after Assistant Secretary of State Richard W. Murphy visited Damascus, the Syrians withdrew their mobile missiles from Lebanon, leaving the fixed batteries still within range of much of Lebanon’s airspace.

One U.S. official noted that the threat of the Syrian missiles may be more symbolic than real, “since it’s been a long time since any Arabs succeeded in shooting down an Israeli fighter.”

‘Can Be Dealt With’

Lt. Gen. Moshe Levy, Israel’s military chief of staff, bluntly warned the Syrians on Sunday that “proof was given in June, 1982, that missile deployment can be dealt with very well militarily.” He was referring to a massive Israeli air raid that destroyed 17 of 19 Syrian anti-aircraft batteries inside Lebanon during Israel’s 1982 invasion of that country.

Levy said his air force needs the freedom to fly over Lebanese territory because the Beirut government is unable to control anti-Israeli guerrilla groups there.

State Department spokesman Redman noted that the United States formally objects to Israel’s overflights but also recognizes that they may be justified.

“We have consistently expressed strong support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Lebanon,” he said. “At the same time, we have supported efforts to achieve full security for Israel’s northern border.”

“It is clear that there are limits in the capability of the central government of Lebanon,” he added.

Syrian Reaction

In Damascus, the Syrian state-owned newspaper Tishrin warned that Syria will not be pressured by other nations, while at the same time it rejected Israeli objections to the missile deployment, news agencies reported.

“How does Israel and its protectors overseas allow the Israeli warplanes to continue with their overflights and raids in Lebanon and at the same time consider moves within Syria territory or inside any Arab country a threat to Israeli security which must be punished?” the newspaper asked in an editorial.

“Those sounding the war drums think they can frighten Syria and stop her from confronting hegemony or in protecting Lebanon and the Palestinian revolution,” Tishrin went on. “But they must understand very well that the days of hooliganism are over, and Syria is going ahead with its stand of beating off all conspiracies.”