Barak seeks to lower U.S. profile in peace talks

TEL AVIV [MENL] -- Prime Minister Ehud Barak left on Wednesday for a six-day visit to the United States aimed at mapping out strategy with the Clinton administration on the resumption of the Middle East peace process.

Barak will meet U.S. President Bill Clinton four times during the prime minister's stay. Two of the meetings will be working sessions.

Officials said Barak will seek to reduce the U.S. profile in the expected Israeli negotiations with the Palestinians and Syria. They said this would now be possible because of the increased trust in Israel.

"We think direct negotiations between the sides is preferable," Minister Haim Ramon said. "I am sure that the United States will be very helpful but not involved in every detail."

Israeli officials said despite the optimism in Washington and several Arab capitals they expect rough ride. They cited Syria, which despite its positive statements has insisted that Israel agree to a full withdrawal from the Golan Heights.

"The signals that are being heard are good but you don't make peace by signals," Foreign Minister David Levy said.

Levy said the Israel and Syria "have a large dispute" over Syria's insistence that the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin had pledged to withdraw from the entire Golan Heights in exchange for peace and security arrangements. Israel has denied this.

"The United States doesn't confirm the Syrian claim that everything is ready and all we have to do is sign," Levy said.

Radio Damascus on Wednesday praised Barak, saying his statements to renew peace talks with Syria are encouraging. The radio said the next few days will reveal Barak's real intentions.

In a commentary a short while later, Radio Cairo broadcast a similar commentary.

The Syrian Al Thawra daily called for increased U.S. involvement in the Middle East peace process. "The task of the American co-sponsor of the peace process should not stop within the limits of shy positions and pulse feeling,'' the newspaper said. "It should move to action and to honest implementation."

On late Tuesday, Barak held a two-hour meeting with King Abdullah. Officials said the king relayed a message from Syrian President Hafez Assad and spoke of the Syrian leader's desire for peace.

Jordanian Prime Minister Abdul Rauf Rawabdeh said the Hashemite kingdom expected Israel to move quickly with the Palestinians and Syrians. "We believe that Mr. Barak is an honest soldier and he will stand up to his words which we have heard," he said. "That's why I said our talks are positive. We hope that results will appear in the very near future."

For his part, Barak pledged to implement the interim accords with the Palestinians, which call for a withdrawal from parts of the West Bank. But he urged patience as Israel attempts to coordinate a withdrawal with the Palestinians.

"We are commited to these agreements including the Wye agreement," he said. "We will implement it. It will need some patience since we have to study the map to realize what are the obstacles."

The Israeli prime minister reiterated his satisfaction with the statements from the Syrian government that seek to revive peace talks suspended in 1996. "The messages that are coming from Damascus over the last few weeks are positive," he said. "We hope to revive the peace and to settle the dispute peacefully in a way that will defend Israel's security, reduce terrorism in the region and, of course, take into account the interests of Syria."