Move to Reconcile Egypt, Syria Pressed : Jordanian, in Damascus, Said to Deliver Letter on Ties to Cairo

A new round of shuttle diplomacy was reported Sunday in a growing campaign to reconcile Syria with Egypt, two key Arab states that have been bitterly divided for a decade about approaches to peace with Israel.

Prime Minister Zaid Rifai of Jordan made an unannounced visit to Damascus on Sunday morning and conferred with Syrian President Hafez Assad, reportedly carrying a letter from Jordan’s King Hussein to Assad connected with Syrian relations with Egypt, according to Jordanian officials.

Syria has been an implacable foe of Egypt since the signing of the 1979 Camp David peace treaty with Israel. But a realignment of Middle East alliances now taking place may have cleared the way for an improvement in Cairo-Damascus ties, according to Western diplomats in the region.

Speculation about an impending warming of relations began to surface two weeks ago, after a visit by King Hussein to Damascus and soon thereafter to Cairo. Syria added fuel to the speculation by suddenly praising Egypt after years of vilifying the Cairo government for continuing its relations with Israel.

A senior government official in Damascus was quoted by the official Syrian news agency as hailing Cairo’s decision, despite pressure from Israel, to recognize the independent state that was proclaimed by Palestinians meeting in Algiers last month.

The statement, along with a general reduction in the Syrian propaganda directed against Egypt, has convinced Arab officials that a breakthrough in relations may be imminent.

Osama Baz, an adviser to Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak, confirmed in an interview with an Egyptian periodical Friday that efforts are under way to repair their relationship.

‘Brothers in Arms’

” . . . We are brothers in arms with Syria and we have a unity of purpose and many points in which we meet,” Baz said in an interview with Ash Shaab, the weekly organ of the Socialist Labor Party. “It is only normal that there will be, from time to time, some passing differences which should not affect the nature of the relationship between the Egyptian and Syrian peoples and countries.”

Baz said that while there were no immediate plans to convene a meeting with Syrian officials, “there is an ongoing effort to warm up relations, clear the air and put differences within their proper perspective.”

Along with most Arab governments, Syria broke relations with Egypt in 1979. Last November, a summit meeting of Arab leaders in Amman, Jordan, decided to permit individual states to restore relations with Egypt, a show of thanks in part for Egypt’s commitment to defend the Persian Gulf Arab states against Iranian aggression.

All of the members of the Arab League except Syria, Lebanon and Libya have since restored ties with Cairo. Arab newspapers remarked that an improvement between Syria and Egypt would allow an Arab summit to be convened early in the New Year in Saudi Arabia.

In part, the reconciliation effort by Egypt and Jordan appears to reflect a desire by the Arab states to keep alive the prospect for an eventual negotiated settlement with Israel.

There have been reports in the Arab news media that both King Hussein and President Mubarak plan visits to Washington early next year to brief President-elect George Bush on the status of peace efforts.

Syria long has been regarded as holding a central position in any peace talks with Israel, in part because of its huge armed presence facing Israel across the Golan Heights and because of Assad’s unrelenting opposition to granting concessions to Israel in any negotiations.

The Syrian government applauded the Palestinian declaration of an independent state but condemned concessions to Israel. Its position was taken as a rejection of the Palestine Liberation Organization decision to accept U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, which implicitly recognizes Israel’s right to exist.

In addition to trying to improve relations between Syria and Egypt, King Hussein reportedly has revived his efforts to heal the rift between Syria and Iraq. Two previous efforts to improve Baghdad-Damascus ties failed after a few days.

One major difference is that Assad feels great personal enmity toward Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. The two men assert their leadership of rival wings of the Arab Baath Socialist Party, and each has worked for years to sabotage the other’s rule.