Israeli, Syria leaders arrive in U.S. for talks.
Published:
15 December 1999 y., Wednesday
Israel_s Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Syrian Foreign Minister al-Shara arrived in Washington Tuesday ahead of historic talks on a peace treaty that could close the circle on Middle East peace. He meets al-Shara on Wednesday.
The talks will be the highest-level talks ever between Israel and Syria. The two countries have been in a technical state of war since Israel was founded in 1948, and Syria is hoping that it can reclaim the Golan Heights, captured by Israel in the 1967 war, as part of a larger agreement.
However, Israeli and U.S. officials cautioned that no immediate breakthrough was likely from two days of meetings that will start with a White House gathering hosted by U.S. President Bill Clinton.
Barak, an ex-army chief who negotiated with the Syrians before talks were broken off in 1996 after a wave of suicide bombings in Israel by Islamic militants, said on his departure he felt a historic responsibility to end 50 years of hostility.
In Damascus, the government English-language Syria Times said a peace deal would achieve "security, prosperity and dignity" for everyone in the Middle East, including Israelis.
The fate of the talks will hinge on the Golan Heights, where some 17,000 Israelis have settled. Israel annexed the region in 1981.
Šaltinis:
Internet
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.
The most popular articles
Kabul residents express mixed views on their country's future security ahead of U.S. President Barack Obama's announcement of a withdrawal plan.
more »
The U.S Food and Drug Administration will release graphic warning labels for cigarette packages this week, to remind the American public about the dangers of smoking, moving away from the smaller print warnings currently found on cartons.
more »
Amateur video footage shows the immediate aftermath of Russian plane crash. There were 52 passengers and crew aboard the Tupolev-134 when it went down on Monday night.
more »
Israel's Arava Power Company has unveiled the country's first commercial solar field. The firm, which is investing almost $2 million on building a series of plants across the Negev desert hopes to start a "Solar Revolution" in the largely arid country.
more »
Shape-shifting robot mannequins are being used by an Estonian company to help solve one of the biggest problems for the online clothing industry - giving customers clothes which fit properly.
more »
NASA releases video of a solar flare erupting from the sun.
more »
Residents of the Argentine town of Villa la Angostura are warned to stay inside after a blanket of volcanic ash descends.
more »
An energy efficient home, measuring just 3 metres cubed, is helping people realise how to cut their carbon footprint.
more »
Remote, windswept Macquarie Island in the Southern Ocean is being purged of its rabbits in a massive eradication programme designed to reverse more than a hundred years of environmental destruction.
more »
Space Shuttle Endeavour lands at the Kennedy Space Station in Florida for the last time after completing its mission to the International Space Station, as Space Shuttle Atlantis prepares for NASA’s last shuttle mission.
more »