Ehud Barak, to leave peace talks tomorrow
Israeli and Syrian negotiators are expected to restart talks in the United States today but its reported that it could be the last full day of this round of talks. The negotiations, which are being held to resolve a dispute between the two nations which dates back to the 1960s ran into problems on Thursday and were only resolved following the intervention of President Clinton on Friday.
A White House spokesman said the US President could return to the talks today but both sides are saying the talks could end soon. An Israeli official said the Prime Minister Ehud Barak is due to return home on Monday leaving officials behind for scaled down negotiations. A Syrian delegate said the talks could break off on Monday or by midweek, with a fixed date for their resumption in the near future.
Neither side met yesterday because of the Sabath and the end of Ramadam. Since they got underway on Monday, the process has come close to breaking down on two occasions in procedural disputes. At the heart of the debate is the future of the Golan Heights, Syrian territory captured by Israel in the June 1967 Middle East war. The peace accord envisaged here would see an Israeli withdrawal from the Golan in exchange for security guarantees from Damascus.
