U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, at head of table, meets with Barak and al-Sharaa at Blair House

December 16, 1999
Web posted at: 4:17 p.m. EST (2117 GMT)

From staff and wire reports

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Proclaiming "a new beginning" for Mideast peace, President Clinton announced on Thursday that Israel and Syria will resume "intensive" negotiations near Washington on January 3.

"The journey will be tough," Clinton said Thursday at the close of two days of talks between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa.

Clinton said both sides could count on the United States "every step of the way."

Direct talks between Israel and Syria broke off almost four years ago after Syria refused to condemn a wave of suicide bombings in Israel by Islamic militants.

VIDEO Behind the scenes at the talks, with CNN's Walter Rodgers (December 16) QuickTime Play Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K CNN's Andrea Koppel reports on the meeting in Washington between Syrian and Israeli leaders (December 15) QuickTime Play Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K     AUDIO Al-Sharaa said peace for Syria involves return of the Golan Heights 629K/55 sec. AIFF or WAV sound Barak: "We are determined to do everything we can" 553K/55 sec. AIFF or WAV sound     ALSO Struggle for Peace Time: Why Israel Is Willing to Hand Back the Golan Chronology of Syrian-Israeli relations     MESSAGE BOARD Mideast peace

This week's talks between Barak and al-Sharaa at Blair House, the guest residence across the street from the White House, are the first-ever between the two countries on such a high diplomatic level.

While the White House maintained a news blackout on details from the discussions, Israeli sources said that Barak and al-Sharaa agreed that they wanted to wrap up a peace agreement by the end of next year.

But al-Sharaa told reporters on his way to Thursday's session that although the Syrian delegation was "satisfied" with the progress of the talks, the two sides would not issue any declaration of principals after the meeting.

U.S. President Bill Clinton told reporters after the first day that the talks were "going pretty well, but it's hard going and we've got some work to do."

The Israelis were initially angered by al-Sharaa's opening remarks at a public welcoming ceremony, Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy reported, but "the ice melted and businesslike discussions began" during meetings with Clinton and later bilateral discussions.

At the Rose Garden ceremony on Wednesday, al-Sharaa had demanded the return of the Golan Heights and accused Israel of uprooting a half-million Syrians after capturing the border plateau in the 1967 Mideast war.

Syrian speech angers Israel

In his Rose Garden remarks, al-Sharaa also said that Arab suffering hasn't received the media attention it deserves.

"During the last half century, in particular, the vision of the Arabs and their sufferings were totally ignored due to the lack of immediate opportunity for them (to) convey their points of view," he said.

Israeli and U.S. sources said Barak -- who fought in the 1967 war -- and his negotiating team were infuriated by al- Sharaa's prepared statement.

U.S. officials said the Syrian diplomat's remarks also angered members of the Clinton administration.

Barak, in his brief Rose Garden remarks, spoke of working toward peace. "We are determined to do whatever we can ... to bring about the dreams of children and mothers all around the region to see a better future of the Middle East at the entrance to the new millennium," he said.

Clinton called the talks between the Mideast neighbor countries "a big step" along the path to peace.

Jerusalem Bureau Chief Walter Rodgers, State Department Correspondent Andrea Koppel, Producer Larry Register, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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