Syria: Back in the Peace Game

It took Warren Christopher not one but two trips last week between Jerusalem and Damascus before he managed to collect enough good news to end his Middle East mission. By Thursday the Secretary of State was able to announce that if there was nothing he could do to stem the violence between the Israelis and the Palestinians, he had at least managed to end Syria's boycott of the Middle East peace talks.

To break the deadlock, Christopher offered a diplomatic plum to Syrian President Hafez Assad: a meeting with Clinton in Geneva. The mid-January summit, which is expected to bring the Syrians back to Washington's bargaining tables by February, will enable Assad to project the statesmanlike image he craves. And it will also give him a chance to explain to Clinton his reservation about the Arafat-Rabin accord.

Christopher's announcement came in response to a rare display of Syrian goodwill toward Israel. Assad promised to assist investigations into the disappearance of Israeli soldiers in Lebanon during the 1980s, and offered exit permits to 1,200 Syrian Jews by the end of this month. The gestures did not go unnoticed. The very next day, the Administration said it would temporarily relax sanctions against Syria -- imposed for its alleged support of international terrorism -- to allow the transfer of several American-made aircraft from Kuwait.

Such overtures may help ease tension between the two countries, but the linchpin to a lasting peace is the Golan Heights. Israel may be ready to negotiate handing back the strategic high ground to Syria, but the Israelis say, the final handover would have to be a prize at the end of cementing a peace treaty and normal relations between Jerusalem and Damascus. In return, what Syria wants has to come from the U.S.: American troops to guarantee demilitarization of the Golan, and acceptance by the Western community of nations.