- Title: SYRIA: TALKS CONTINUE BEWEEN USA AND SYRIA
- Date: 11th April 1991
- Summary: DAMASCUS, SYRIA (APRIL 12, 1991) BAKER AND AL-SHARA AT MEDIA CONFERENCE BAKER SPEAKING AS NOTED (ENGLISH)
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- Story Text:Syria and the United States (US) said on Friday (April 12) after talks in Damascus that they still had differences over the form of any Middle East peace conference, but talks were continuing.
As a visit by US Secretary of State James Baker drew to a close, Syrian Foreign Minister Farouq al-Shara said Syria still opposed US ideas for a regional forum and Damascus stood by its demand for a significant United Nations role in any Middle East peace conference.
Baker said the name or shape of the forum was not important. He said his talks in Syria with Shara and President Hafez Assad were useful and they agreed there was now a chance of reaching peace.
The US Secretary of State said that he had made progress in his tour, which also took him to Israel and Egypt, but problems remained and they could not be solved in one trip.
Baker was due to go to Geneva on Friday to meet Jordan's Foreign Minister Taher al-Masri in a gesture of reconciliation. Washington was angered by Amman's sympathy for Iraq during the Gulf war and Congress has voted to cut off 55 million US dollars in aid.