January 12, 2000
Web posted at: 7:33 PM EST (0033 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- State Department spokesman James Rubin described Syria on Wednesday as having a government that is "not democratic in any sense of the word."

Syria and Israel are negotiating the terms of a possible peace deal to end more than 50 years of hostility between the two Middle East neighbors. Those talks have recessed until January 19.

Rubin has repeatedly noted that Israel, as a democracy, is committed to holding a referendum on a possible peace treaty with Syria.

In response to a question about democracy in Syria and peace with Israel, Rubin said: "We believe that the decision-making [process] and the need for ratification by the people of Syria is not even close to what it is in Israel."

But Rubin noted that public opinion in Syria, insofar as it can be gauged, appears to oppose peace with Israel. Such a deal, he said, "will obviously entail significant effects on the views of the people in Syria."