DATE=12/10/1999 TYPE=U-S OPINION ROUNDUP TITLE=ISRAEL AND SYRIA SET TO RESUME PEACE TALKS NUMBER=6-11589 BYLINE=ANDREW GUTHRIE DATELINE=WASHINGTON TELEPHONE=619-3335 CONTENT= TEXT: President Clinton's announcement that Syria and Israel will resume top-level negotiations toward a peace settlement has gotten a great deal of editorial comment. Most of the papers salute the move and praise President Clinton, Madeleine Albright and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak for moving forward on one of the most intransigent components of a comprehensive Middle East peace. We get a sampling of reaction now from __________ in today's U-S Opinion Roundup. TEXT: The announcement was heralded in a number of editorial columns, although virtually every paper said that coming to terms with the key issue, Syrian repossession of the strategic Golan Heights, captured by Israel in the 1967 war, was going to be a huge diplomatic obstacle. The talks will begin next week in Washington, with Prime Minister Ehud Barak representing Israel and Syrian foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa representing his country. Syrian President Hafez el-Assad will participate indirectly from Damascus. We begin our sampling in Florida, where the Miami Herald calls the resumption "a genuine breakthrough." VOICE: With no exaggeration, President Clinton called this week's agreement to talk "a truly historic opportunity." Still, all the hard work lies ahead. . The breakthrough is an unexpected bonus for Israel. It now can proceed apace with simultaneous talks with two of its major Middle East antagonists - the Palestinians and Syria. With Syria, there is the opportunity - if all goes well - for Mr. Barak to fulfill his oft-repeated campaign pledge to withdraw Israeli troops from their protective and costly holding pattern in southern Lebanon. .. In seizing this moment, Ms. Albright has shown Israel's and Syria's leaders that their common goals can be achieved by mutual trust. That's a big step, but it mustn't be the last. TEXT: In the nation's capital, the Washington Post, reminds readers of the historical perspective. VOICE: Syria and Israel have never been at peace. They have known war and are practiced in living side by side but apart. It will take a long political leap by the two to reach just to the cold start of a relationship that at best is bound to be wary and restricted for years. TEXT: On New York's Long Island, Newsday sees this latest news as part of a positive continuum toward peace that is gaining momentum. VOICE: Taken together, the reopening of talks with Syria and the halting of settlement activity [in Israel] demonstrates that there is a real opportunity for a comprehensive peace. That will undoubtedly take the direct involvement, eventually of President Bill Clinton. But the developments this week should give [Mr.] Clinton incentive to become involved. TEXT: The Hartford [Connecticut] Courant is cheering Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak for keeping to a schedule of moves he promised during the election, including resuming peace talks with Syria. VOICE: Five months after assuming office, he is on target. . Mr. Barak and Mr. Assad know that they will get considerable heat for, respectively, "giving up" land and recognizing the long-demonized "Zionist entity." . Although the road to lasting peace will be difficult and may lead nowhere, it's better to embark, as Syria and Israel have done, than to remain stuck in the sand. TEXT: In Rhode Island, the Providence Journal is praising President Clinton for helping get the two sides together after such a long hiatus, but warns: VOICE: . no one thinks . this is going to be easy. The central point of contention, the Golan Heights, is immensely strategic. . Still, Mr. Barak has now gone the extra mile to signal his readiness for a comprehensive settlement. It's now up to the Syrians and Palestinians to signal their desire for peace. TEXT: In Pittsburgh, the Post-Gazette sees another factor as helping move things along. VOICE: A sense of his own mortality also might have brought President Assad back to the table. He has ruled Syria since 1970 and would like to bequeath power to his son Bashar. Recovering the Golan Heights . would provide the Assad dynasty with a greater luster at home. TEXT: And in the Midwest, a hopeful Chicago Tribune explains: VOICE: A peace treaty with Syria would pave the way for an expected Israeli troop pullout next July from southern Lebanon, Syria's client state. It also could build momentum for an Israeli deal with the Palestinians, not to mention a wider peace between Israel and as much as half of the Arab world, if others follow. That kind of comprehensive peace would put Israel on stable terms with all close Arab neighbors, potentially making it more secure than at any time in its history. TEXT: Lastly, the Los Angeles Times goes so far as to suggest that the broad outlines of an agreement may have already been secretly agreed to. And it points out the obvious. VOICE: To say that making peace is in everyone's interest is simply to note what has always been true. The added element this time is an apparent readiness by Syria and Israel to bargain in good faith on hard territorial, security and political issues. [Syrian President] Assad cannot settle for less than regaining sovereignty over the Golan Heights, lost to Israel in the 1967 war. [Israeli Prime Minister] Barak must have the full normalization of relations and the security guarantees, including demilitarized zones and listening posts, that would make quitting the Golan politically acceptable to most Israelis. It may be, as many in Israel believe, that the broad outlines of an agreement have already been secretly agreed on, with the details now to be nail down. If so, a large step will have been taken toward winning the battle for peace. TEXT: With that, we conclude this sampling of editorial comment from the U-S press on news that Israel and Syria will resume high-level negotiations on a peace agreement. NEB/ANG/KL 10-Dec-1999 13:32 PM EDT (10-Dec-1999 1832 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America .