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Friday June 16, 2000

Leaders confused; will Assad's son stay on dad's path?

NEW YORK (JTA) -- Syrian President Hafez Assad's son and heir apparent commented on the peace process this week -- but there is
On Tuesday, on the sidelines of his father's funeral, Bashar Assad met with Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and vowed to p

Albright said she was very encouraged by her meeting with Bashar, whom she described as "very poised" and "ready to assume his duties."

Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), who was part of the U.S. delegation led by Albright, later said that he interpreted Bashar's comments as indicating he would not continue his father's intransigence toward Israel, but would adopt a more flexible approach.

Many analysts interpreted the comments differently, saying Bashar is unlikely to stray from the hard line his father set in negotiations with Israel. Hafez Assad had demanded a total Israeli pullback from the Golan Heights to the June 4, 1967 lines.

While his funeral drew Arab heads of state, Western countries sent lower-level delegations.

Neither President Clinton nor Vice President Al Gore attended because Syria remains on a U.S. list of states that sponsor terrorism.

The only Western head of state to attend the funeral was French President Jacques Chirac.

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