President Clinton and President Hafez al-Assad of Syria wrapped up several hours of talks at a Geneva hotel yesterday aimed at reviving Israeli-Syrian peace negotiations.
A senior US official, Mr Stephen Seche, said the two delegations ended their discussions shortly before 8.30 p.m. (7.30 Irish time), 51/2 hours after they began. Mr Clinton was due to leave Geneva for Washington later, although US officials speculated earlier that he might remain in Geneva until today for further talks with the Syrians.
The talks between Mr Clinton and Mr Assad amounted to a fresh attempt by the US to revive the Israeli-Syrian peace negotiations. During the break in the summit meeting, the US Secretary of State, Ms Madeleine Albright, held talks with the Syrian Foreign Minister, Mr Faruq al-Shara.
Mr Clinton spoke earlier in the day with the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Ehud Barak, but it was not known if he called him again when the talks with Mr Assad were suspended after 31/2 hours.
The discussions were believed to focus on proposals concerning Israel's readiness to withdraw from the Golan Heights, a strategic plateau seized from Syria during the 1967 Middle East war and later annexed.
Ms Albright played down expectations of an early breakthrough in efforts by Israel and Syria to work out a peace deal after more than half a century of confrontation. "The differences may not be reconcilable," she said in an interview with the CBS Face the Nation programme recorded before Mr Clinton and Mr Assad met. "We have to try to figure out whether they are, though," she said, adding that "at this moment, all is up in the air".
Talks between Israel and Syria broke down in West Virginia in early January over Syrian demands that Israel commit to full withdrawal from the Golan Heights before other key issues for Israel, such as security and diplomatic relations, can be discussed. Since then, US officials have tried to resolve the dispute by finding a way in which the needs of both sides can simultaneously be met. President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt told the Washington Post last week that Israel and Syria had come close to resolving their disputes over the Golan Heights and security issues.
But Ms Albright did not express similar optimism. "One thing I've learned is to stop predicting about the Middle East peace talks, their pace or their location," she said. But she held out the possibility of Syria's removal from the US State Department's list of state sponsors of terrorism, if Damascus reached a peace accord with Israel that would address Israeli security concerns.
In Washington, Israeli and Palestinian negotiators held a working meeting at the weekend as part of their effort to reach a framework deal for lasting peace, according to sources close to negotiations. The negotiators have been meeting in seclusion since last Tuesday, trying to reach a framework accord that would lead to the forging of a permanent peace by the self-imposed September 13th deadline.
The framework agreement, which initially was expected to be completed by mid-February, will cover the thorniest issues still dividing the two sides. These include the status of Jerusalem, the borders of any future Palestinian state, the fate of Jewish settlements, and further Israeli troop withdrawals.