(17 Jan 2000) English/Nat
Israel has announced that this week's round of peace talks with the Syrians has been postponed indefinitely.
The announcement by Prime Minister Ehud Barak's office followed strong indications from Damascus that the talks would be postponed in frustration at what Syrians say is Israel's unwillingness to commit at the outset to a full withdrawal from the Golan Heights - Syria's main demand in the talks.
Earlier in the day, Barak had prepared the ground for a possible postponement, saying he was prepared to wait for talks to resume.
The development came as a high-level European Union delegation pledged its support to the Middle East peace process following meetings with Israeli and Palestinian officials in Jerusalem and the West Bank.
E-U Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana said the member states of the Union would offer every possible assistance to the parties involved.
And Portuguese Foreign Secretary Jaime Gama said a future Palestinian state was high up on the agenda within the E-U.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"We do not take dictates from no one on earth but we highly respect President Assad and if he needs some
time before the negotiations are to be resumed we respect it and we will wait and we will be there. When they will be ready we will be ready. If they are not ready now, we are not ready now, we are not ready either, we have a lot of work do here as you all know."
SUPER CAPTION: Ehud Barak, Israeli Prime Minister
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"For us it is a great pleasure to be here and to contribute to the peace process in the manner that we can. We will be contributing in the bilateral tracts and also the most gradual tract."
SUPER CAPTION: Javier Solana. European Union Foreign Policy Chief
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"We have been joining President Arafat in a very positive and extremely fruitful dialogue regarding the future of the peace process and the difficulties that must be overcome. We are very, very concerned about that on the European side, and we reassured President Arafat of the strong commitment of the EU regarding the Palestinian Authority."
SUPER CAPTION: Jaime Gama, Portuguese Foreign Minister
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