Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to discuss strategies for restarting Israel-Syria peace talks when he meets with President Clinton this week, he said Sunday.
Netanyahu added, however, that he does not feel bound by his more dovish predecessors' assurances to Syria regarding the future of the disputed Golan Heights."The renewal of the talks with Syria is one of the issues I will discuss in Washington, but I want to make it clear that this government is not the previous government," he told reporters. "It was elected on a different platform."
The Israeli leader meets with Clinton on Monday.
The liberal government of Shimon Peres had told the United States that Israel might withdraw from the Golan Heights if it could be satisfied about security on the border plateau, said David Bar-Illan, Netanyahu's media adviser.
At issue were proposals for demilitarized zones on both sides of the border and an international peacekeeping force on the Golan, as well as Israel's demand for early warning stations in territory it might vacate.
Israel and Syria were believed to be making progress on some of the issues before talks ended in March amid the tumult of deadly suicide bombings in Israel.