Syria wants to resume dialogue with U.S.

LONDON -- Syria wants to renew its dialogue with the Clinton administration in an effort to remain the focus of attention in U.S.-led efforts to achieve an Arab-Israeli peace.

Arab diplomatic sources said Syria is relaying messages to France and the United States that Damascus continues to be interested in peace efforts. They said this includes finding a formula that would resume negotiations with Israel.

The sources said that those close to President Hafez Assad fear that Syrian interests will be damaged if Damascus is left out of the U.S.-led peace process. They are said to be concerned that Syria will come under pressure to withdraw from Lebanon in the wake of an Israeli pullback as well as lose out on billions of dollars in international aid.

They said this will harm the chances of Assad's son, Bashar, to succeed his ailing father. The sources said Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk A-Shaara is pressing Washington to renew a dialogue with the United States.

At the same time, Syria has succeeded in stopping U.S. plans to renew the multilateral talks on Middle East cooperation. This includes a planned conference on water in Oman this week.

For his part, Bashar told the London-based Al Wasat weekly in an interview published on Monday that Syria remains interested in negotiating with Israel. "The peace process is not over and the door remains open," he said. "The time is not too late and it has not run out."

Bashar said that the failure of the Oct. 26 summit between his father and U.S. President Bill Clinton was exaggerated. He cited the high expectations of Israeli and U.S. officials.

"It's possible that some of the pessimism was a result of people believing that the summit was going to finalize the peace process, and there were those who called it a last chance," Bashar said. "But that isn't accurate, since the last opportunity will be the meeting at which peace is achieved."

Bashar, however, ruled out any concessions in negotiations with Israel. "The subject of land is a matter of sovereignty and honor," he said. "Economic or real estate issues are not relevant when the subject is the homeland. The matter of the land is not open to opinions and interpretations."

On Monday, British journalist and Assad confidant Patrick Seale urged Assad to agree to goodwill gestures meant to increase confidence of the Israeli government people. In an open letter, Seale said Assad must make peace with the Israeli people and not merely with Prime Minister Ehud Barak.

"There's no doubt that you want peace with honor," Seale said in a call to Assad. "But your style sends mixed messages. Israel is strong but doesn't feel strong. You can't make peace with Barak alone. You have to make peace with the government, Knesset and the people."

Seale, in a letter published in the London-based Al Hayat, also urged Barak to adopt the commitments made by the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin for a withdrawal from the entire Golan Heights.