Israel and Syria Move to Put Peace Talks Back on Track

Israel and Syria on Monday defused the crisis atmosphere hanging over their peace talks by re-establishing businesslike discussions.

After a stormy session last Thursday, which ended with Syria’s chief negotiator stalking out of the room, both sides seemed anxious to put the negotiations back on track.

They apparently succeeded, even though the top Syrian, Mouwafak Allaf, said there was still no progress on the key question of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Israeli chief negotiator Itamar Rabinovich said the discussion left some hope that the sides could still stitch together a joint statement of principles by the time this round of talks ends on Thursday.

“But I wouldn’t want to put any percentage on the odds,” Rabinovich said. “Even if we end the week without a joint statement of principles, I will not be disappointed. There’s always the next round.”

The Israeli negotiator proposed that the sides should meet again in Washington Oct. 21, immediately after the forthcoming season of Jewish religious holidays.

He also put forward an alternative date in November in case the Arabs were reluctant to meet on the eve of the U.S. presidential election of Nov. 3.

Allaf said he had no problem with the October date but wanted to consult with the talks’ U.S. and Russian co-sponsors and with fellow Arabs before giving a definite answer.

Israel’s separate talks with Palestinians, which seek accord on self-rule for the 1.7 million inhabitants of the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, also seemed to move into calmer water.

Recognizing the futility of demanding Israel’s reaffirmation that the talks are based on U.N. Resolution 242--which calls for Israel to cede land for peace--the Palestinians instead presented Israel with a document stating that in their view, the negotiations were based on 242, said spokeswoman Hanan Ashrawi.

Three representatives from each side, including the Israeli and Palestinian delegation leaders, then met in informal session.

Israeli-Lebanese and Israeli-Jordanian negotiations are virtually on hold.

The Lebanese are apparently waiting to see what happens in the Israeli-Syrian talks while the Jordanians are awaiting developments in the Israeli-Palestinian talks.