Top senators warn Israel not to count on U.S. funds for peace

JERUSALEM [MENL] -- Key U.S. senators are warning Israel not to count on the United States to bankroll an Israeli-Syrian peace treaty.

The senators, currently on a visit to Israel after a tour of North African states, said they will support aid to Israel in any peace with Syria. This, they said, would include both military and civilian aid.

But they said Congress would not approve the vast sums being proposed. Israeli sources said Barak is requesting up to $65 billion worth of aid as part of a multi-year package. "An Israeli-Syrian peace treaty is imperative for the region and the world," Sen. Arlen Specter, a member of the Foreign Appropriations Committee, said. "But there's no blank check that's going to come out of the U.S. Treasury."

Specter is part of a five-member committee delegation that is touring the region to determine the foreign aid needs of Israel and its Arab neighbors. The senators said they don't have plans to visit Syria during their current tour.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Ehud Barak said he was not given a commitment for additional U.S. military aid. He said in any peace agreement with Syria he would ensure that the military is strengthened "significantly through an early-warning network and the best weapons in the world. Nothing has been promised. Everything will be wrapped up when it is concluded."

U.S. officials said the Clinton administration is urging members of Congress to visit the region. They said several delegations are expected to visit Syria over the next few months.

"We have a lot of dealings with Israel in terms of an agreement between Israel and Syria," said outgoing Israeli ambassador Edward Walker, who has been nominated to be U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs. "It will have financial implications. It is very important that the members of Congress are full parties in this process and that they understand what it is that's involved so that they can make their own judgements."

The senators appeared to have nixed any prospect of U.S. aid to Syria. They said Syria will remain on the State Department list of terrorist nations until it expels the terrorist groups that enjoy shelter in Damascus.

The United States will enlist the help of Arab and European countries to provide aid to Syria, the senators said. "We can't do it directly," Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, a Colorado Republican, said. "If these countries are forthcoming, great. If not, it will make things more difficult."

On Tuesday, State Department spokesman James Rubin said U.S. officials have not shelved the terrorism issue with Damascus. "Syria remains on the U.S. terrorism list," he said. "We continue to be concerned about the opponents of peace trying to kill the goals of the majority of people in the region who want to see peace for their people, for their families; allow the region an opportunity to thrive economically and politically. We remain concerned and vigilant in that area."