U.S. Envoy Buoyed by Talks With Syrians on Lebanon Vote

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Richard W. Murphy left Syria on Saturday, saying that he is encouraged by talks with Syrian leaders on Lebanon’s forthcoming presidential election.

“I have found in Damascus, as I did in Beirut, a deep commitment to a peaceful, timely, orderly presidential election in Lebanon,” he told reporters at Damascus airport.

“We all agree that (the election) will give impetus to the process of constitutional reform and national reconciliation, and we all agree Lebanon’s president must stand for unity and speak for all Lebanese.”

Murphy then flew to Israel, where he is expected to meet Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir and Foreign Minister Shimon Peres during his two-day visit.

Syria, which has an estimated 25,000 troops in Lebanon, has been talking to Washington for several months about smoothing the path for a peaceful vote to choose a successor to President Amin Gemayel, a Christian, whose term expires Sept. 23.

No date has been set for the election by the 76 remaining members of a 99-seat Parliament elected in 1972. Lebanon’s long-running civil war has prevented parliamentary elections since then.

Sources in Beirut said Murphy, who arrived in Syria on Thursday after visiting Lebanon, presented Lebanese leaders with a list of six possible candidates regarded as acceptable to both Muslims and Christians.

Arab diplomats in Damascus said the Syrians asserted that the choice of a candidate is a purely Lebanese affair and that Damascus will support the man representing the aspirations of the Lebanese people.

Murphy held more than five hours of talks with President Hafez Assad on Saturday. He also met with Foreign Minister Farouk Shareh and with Vice President Abdel-Halim Khaddam, an expert on Lebanese affairs.

A senior Syrian official said that Murphy gave Assad a message from President Reagan and that Assad gave him a reply.

Murphy said his talks covered the issue of the Western hostages in Lebanon and said the Syrians assured him that Damascus is trying to secure their release.