U.S. Tries to Restart Mideast Talks : Diplomacy: In Egypt, Christopher meets with Mubarak on first leg of weeklong trip. But neither offers hope that process will resume quickly.

U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher began a week of shuttle diplomacy here Monday in an effort to revive the stalled Middle East peace talks, warning that “decision time is rapidly approaching” on elements of the 21-month-old negotiations.

After a two-hour meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Christopher said he hopes that the past week’s violence in southern Lebanon and northern Israel, which many believe may have soured the atmosphere for continued talks, “paradoxically may have given a new burst of energy to the negotiations.”

But at a news conference after their meeting, neither Christopher nor Mubarak offered any hope that the various parties were ready to schedule a new round of negotiations any time soon. “As I said before,” Christopher added, “we don’t expect any breakthroughs on this trip.”

Christopher plans a full round of discussions with key Middle East leaders over the next two days. He flies to Israel today to meet with Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, then goes to Damascus for talks with Syrian President Hafez Assad.

U.S. officials said that Christopher especially wants to break the impasse in bilateral talks between Israel and Syria. Many analysts see this as the key to progress in bilateral discussions between Israel and other Arab states.

Israel and Syria are at odds over proposals that Israel withdraw its occupying forces from the Golan Heights in return for assurances that Syria will not use the area to launch attacks against Israel. While the two sides agree on the concept, based on the principle of “territory for peace,” they are far apart on its implementation.

U.S. officials contend that Mideast negotiations are now at a stage where all parties--the Israelis, the Arabs, the Palestinians--are approaching crucial decisions that could determine the fate of the entire peace process. During his trip, Christopher hopes to lay the groundwork for resolution of these issues.

Israeli officials believe that if Christopher can open a dialogue between Rabin and Assad, the negotiations could surge ahead with the two leaders discussing--initially through a U.S. mediator--the fundamental issues while their delegations in Washington work out detailed agreements.

The Israeli officials hope that Christopher will be able to get from Rabin clear indications of Israel’s willingness to withdraw from the Golan Heights, captured from Syria in 1967, and from Assad equally clear commitments on the character of future relations between them. With these, Christopher hopes to begin to pull the two leaders together.

“The problem with Syria is one of apres vous --after you,” commented Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Yossi Beilin. “Everyone wants everyone else to go first, and we need a third party to understand what are the real interests. How much we get determines how much we give, and vice versa. In such circumstances, however, we need a third party to understand what are the real interests of each side.”

Christopher has tried twice before to establish such a link between the Israeli and Syrian leaders, according to diplomats here, but Assad refused. The difference now, these sources said, is Christopher’s successful mediation last week among Israel, Lebanon and Syria to halt the Israeli military offensive in southern Lebanon against Iranian-backed Hezbollah guerrillas.

But Israel’s emphasis on negotiations with Syria means that the issue of Palestinian self-government, which had been the core of the Arab-Israeli talks, is sliding to the periphery. “Regrettably, we cannot see any developments there,” Beilin said.

Hanan Ashrawi, the spokeswoman for the Palestinian delegation, described the negotiations with Israel as at “a dead end” and said she could foresee little progress from Christopher’s visit.

Dr. Haider Abdel-Shafi, the head of the delegation, added that he does not even want to meet with Christopher, believing that this would suggest there are negotiations when they have long since ceased.

“I do not think that the Americans have much to offer us anymore, not even their ‘good offices,’ ” he said. “Their Israeli bias is simply too strong for them to overcome.”

The American-mediated cease-fire in southern Lebanon, however, continued to hold as the 500,000 villagers driven northward were returning to their homes and the Hezbollah guerrillas were retreating from the region.

According to reports from Beirut, the Lebanese army prepared to move in force into 70 villages in the region to separate the guerrillas from remaining Israeli forces in Israel’s self-proclaimed “security zone.” If necessary, the Lebanese troops will be supported by Syrian forces, the reports said.

Israel welcomed the development as another step in implementing the cease-fire agreement, which requires Lebanon and Syria to ensure that the militant Shiite Muslim movement Hezbollah, or Party of God, does not fire rockets into northern Israel. Attacks on the “security zone” are not banned, and Israel has warned it will retaliate for them.

Pine reported from Alexandria, Parks from Jerusalem.