December 20, 1999
Web posted at: 9:31 p.m. EST (0231 GMT)

In this story: Israel: Syria is key to peace with Lebanon Arafat meets with Jordan's king RELATED STORIES, SITES

BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) -- Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa says his nation is bringing Lebanon into peace talks with Israel, as one negotiator admitted the talks have hit a slump. Some Palestinians are wondering if the focus on Syrian peace talks will sidetrack Palestinian concerns.

Al-Sharaa briefed Lebanese leaders Monday in Beirut on last week's resumed peace talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak. Afterward he talked about round two, set to start January 3.

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"We expect Lebanon to join the talks in Washington very soon," al-Sharaa said. "Probably after the second round of talks between Syria and Israel, which will start in about 10 days."

Al-Sharaa said Syria would not negotiate for Lebanon at the talks, but he said both countries would only sign peace treaties with Israel together.

A major Israeli peace issue with Lebanon would be Israeli-occupied southern Lebanon. Guerrillas backed by Syria and its ally Iran have been deployed there for years, often clashing with Israeli and Israeli-backed forces.

Syria's main peace issue calls for Israel to withdraw from the Golan Heights, a strategic plateau it captured from Syria during the 1967 Middle East War.

Israel: Syria is key to peace with Lebanon

In Jerusalem, Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh said Syria was the key to making peace with Lebanon.

"I believe that they (the Lebanon and Syria agreements) will be concluded on the same day." Sneh told Israel Radio. "I believe it will be separate documents, but actually it's one parcel."

Progress along the Palestinian track of the Israeli peace process has slowed. Israel's chief negotiator on Palestinian issues, Oded Eran, conceded the peace talks have hit a slump.

Monday's talks ended with the Palestinians rejecting an Israeli proposal dealing with the alignment of borders between Israeli and Palestinian-controlled territory under a final peace settlement.

Palestinian newspapers have been reflecting lingering concerns that their part in the peace process will be sidetracked as a result of the Syrian talks.

But Yasser Abd-Rabbo, the head of the Palestinian negotiating team, expressed optimism. "Any progress on the Syrian track that will lead to the withdrawal of Israeli military forces and civilian settlers from the Golan Heights will serve the peace process in general and the peace process on our track as well," Abd-Rabbo said.

Arafat meets with Jordan's king

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has been seeking a coordinated Arab stance on the peace process, a move that has been rebuffed by Syria.

He met Monday in Amman with Jordan's King Abdullah, who revealed that it was he who first signaled Israel and the United States that Syria was open to resumed peace talks.

Arafat's talks with the king focused on the "slow progress" of the negotiations with Israel and on "coordinating stances in light of recent developments in the region," Arafat's representative, Omar Khatib, said. He declined to elaborate.

Abdullah reportedly gave Arafat moral support, saying it was "imperative to consolidate efforts to push forward the peace process and to reach an agreement according to the set timetable ... because the Palestinian issue is the core of the (Arab-Israeli) conflict," the official Jordanian news agency Petra reported.

The king also said the continuation of construction by Jewish settlers on the West Bank "imperils the peace process," Petra said.

Correspondent Jerrold Kessel, Beirut Bureau Chief Brent Sadler, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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