Word: syrian
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1970-1979
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...revamping of socialism at home is already having rippling effects elsewhere. Sadat's moves, for instance, are making it easier for Syrian President Hafez Assad to convince his Baathist regime to relax restrictions on the private investment that Damascus also needs. More significantly, Sadat is finally reclaiming the Arab leadership that Egyptians had traditionally enjoyed and Nasser once held. Nasser's charisma, however, worked mainly on the masses, many of whom still listen to broadcasts of his old speeches (some of them insist that he is well and living in the Soviet Union and that he will...
Muddling Along. Even so, Henry Kissinger last week described himself as "moderately optimistic" about chances of continuing Middle East diplomatic momentum and achieving disengagement on the Syrian front that would be similar to the pullback under way on the Suez west bank. Privately, however, U.S. officials who accompanied the Secretary on his visit to Damascus last month for talks with Syrian President Hafez Assad are pessimistic that agreement will be reached easily or early. Assad has so far shown neither Sadat's willingness to negotiate nor his freedom to maneuver. The U.S. is prepared to play middleman...
...addition to its internal debates, Syria was getting conflicting advice from other countries. Visiting Damascus last week in the course of an oil-hunting, arms-dealing swing through Arab countries, French Foreign Minister Michel Jobert told Syrian officials that he "understood" their positions. Jobert cautioned them against depending on "foreign efforts" to obtain a settlement. Palestinian guerrillas were also vocal in urging Syria not to settle. Their newspaper Falastin al-Thawra called for Arab solidarity against Israel and said, "Victory will be the lot of those who are long-winded and capable of enduring...
...about achieving a speedy accord. For one thing, the territory involved is smaller than that in the Egyptian-Israeli negotiations, and thus there is little elasticity in either position. Israel, which has long insisted that it has to hold the Heights to protect kibbutzim in Israeli territory below from Syrian shelling, also demands a list of P.O.W.s captured by Syria in October, along with guarantees that they are being treated humanely. Far from being accommodating, Syria so far has steadfastly refused the information and has boycotted talks called in Geneva to discuss disengagement. Syrian President Hafez Assad, moreover...
Untiring Efforts. Before returning to Washington, Kissinger flew off to confer with some of those other parties, stopping first to see King Hussein of Jordan and then going on to Damascus to meet with Syrian leaders, who have so far steadfastly boycotted all peace negotiations. Though he had achieved disengagement in the Sinai, there were such knotty problems remaining as the fate of the Palestinian refugees and the ultimate control of Jerusalem. Tartly commented The Arab World, a daily digest of Middle Eastern news published in Beirut: "Judging by the fact that Kissinger had to visit the Middle East three...