President Clinton announced Monday that he will meet with Syrian leader Hafez Assad in Geneva on Sunday in an effort to bridge the differences between Syria and Israel and allow for the resumption of peace talks that broke down two months ago.
Such a meeting, the first between Clinton and Assad in more than five years, has been seen as a necessary prologue if an agreement between Israel and Syria is to be reached during the remainder of Clinton’s tenure and by the July time frame that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak has said he prefers.
Clinton, who was visiting Bangladesh when he made the announcement at a short news conference, tried to moderate expectations about a swift outcome.
“I don’t want to unduly raise expectations, but I think that this is an appropriate thing for me to do, to try to get this back on track, so that our objectives of having a comprehensive peace can go forward,” Clinton said.
While Clinton and his aides were careful in their public comments, American and Israeli officials suggested that Washington was reasonably confident that the encounter with Assad would produce a new round of talks that could well lead to a final agreement.
