CRISIS IN THE PERSIAN GULF : Syria Not Willing to Oppose Iraq If Israel Is Attacked : Mideast: Baker tells Assad he is entitled to his own position if the Jerusalem government is drawn into war.

With Secretary of State James A. Baker III seated at his side, Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk Shareh said Saturday that his government could not accept Israeli participation in the military coalition against Iraq even if Israel intervenes in response to an Iraqi attack.

Shareh’s comment to a joint press conference followed a two-hour meeting between Baker and Syrian President Hafez Assad, in which the secretary of state sought to find out if Syria, perhaps the biggest question mark in the U.S.-led Persian Gulf alliance, is prepared to go on the offensive if Iraq fails to get out of Kuwait before the U.N. Security Council’s deadline Tuesday.

As he has in visits to other Arab members of the coalition, Baker specifically asked Assad if Syria would fight alongside Israel if the Jersualem government were drawn into the conflict.

Baker later told the press conference that the Syrian government is entitled to its own position regarding Israel, but the United States is ready to come to Israel’s defense if it comes under attack.

“We do not pretend or presume to dictate to anybody what their response should or should not be with respect to particular matters in this crisis,” Baker said.

As Baker and Assad were beginning their meeting, a Damascus radio announcer read a direct appeal from Assad to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, calling on Baghdad to end its occupation of Kuwait in the name of Arab unity.

“The only beneficiary from the present situation is Israel, which still occupies Arab lands and plans to expand continuously in the Arab homeland,” Assad said. “. . . The Arabs, and especially Iraq, are the only losers.”

In a clear reference to Israel, Assad said that if Iraq pulls out of Kuwait and subsequently comes under attack itself, “Syria would stand with all its material and moral force on the side of Iraq in one trench, fighting fiercely until victory is achieved.”

Although Assad and Hussein, leaders of rival wings of the Arab Baath Party, have long been bitter enemies, the Syrian president’s plea could provide a rationale for Hussein to pull out of Kuwait without losing too much face if he chooses to do so.

“Let Iraq’s withdrawal from Kuwait be the beginning of a new era which will free (the Arab world) from serious threats . . . to our homeland, our interest, our dignity and our faith,” Assad said.

Syria sent about 20,000 men to Saudi Arabia to join the multinational force after Iraq’s Aug. 2 invasion of Kuwait. But the Damascus government has never clarified the conditions under which its forces would fight.

At Saturday’s press conference, Shareh said Syria sent its troops to Saudi Arabia “for defensive purposes.” He said Damascus is currently “consulting our Arab brothers in the gulf” about future operations.

The response, although unenthusiastic, seemed to leave the door open to possible Syrian participation in offensive operations after the U.N. deadline. When a reporter asked if Syria could support a U.S. “first strike” against Iraq, Baker broke in to say that Iraq had made the first strike in August. Baker then ended the press conference before Shareh could respond to the question.

A senior State Department official aboard Baker’s plane on the flight from Damascus to Turkey told reporters later that Baker is satisfied with Syria’s position on a possible offensive.

“When we started this trip, it was a given that Syrian forces would not engage in offensive operations,” the official said. “That is no longer a given.”

Shareh seemed to be unequivocal in his response to possible Israeli participation in the crisis.

Asked if Syria would remain in the anti-Iraq coalition if Israel were drawn into the confrontation, Shareh replied, “We in Syria cannot accept an Israeli intervention in this crisis.”

When reporters asked if Syria’s stance would remain the same if Israel were the victim of an unprovoked attack, Shareh said that if Iraq attacked Israel it would be part of a political strategy to disrupt the coalition by drawing Jerusalem into the conflict. In such a case, he said, Israel should not respond.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Tarik Aziz said Wednesday in Geneva that if war breaks out, Iraq would “absolutely” attack Israel.

U.S. officials say that other Arab members of the coalition have indicated that Israeli participation would not affect their policy as long as Israel was attacked. But, these officials say, most Arab governments would find it awkward to continue in the coalition if Israel launched a preemptive attack.

Baker had been scheduled to fly from Damascus to Ankara for meetings today with Turkish officials. However, the airport in the Turkish capital was fogbound when Baker’s plane arrived.

After making one pass at the runway, Baker’s Air Force transport was diverted to Incirlik Air Base, a North Atlantic Treaty Organization facility jointly operated by the U.S. and Turkish air forces.

On the final day of an eight-day trip to Europe and the Middle East, Baker is scheduled to confer today with Turkish President Turgut Ozal, then go on to Britain for talks with Prime Minister John Major. On the way back to Washington, he plans to stop in Ottawa for meetings with Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.