The revival of the talks Monday between Israel's ambassador to Washington, Itamar Rabinovich, and his Syrian counterpart, Walid al-Mualem, was the main outcome of a Middle East tour last week by U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher.
Although both sides and their U.S. hosts had agreed not to disclose details, U.S. and Israeli officials confirmed an initial round was taking place Monday and Tuesday.
At Syrian and Israeli request, the State Department's special Middle East coordinator, Dennis Ross, is sitting in on the talks, which will concern terms for an Israeli withdrawal from the Golan, captured by the Jewish state in 1967.
Although the talks made no headway before breaking down in late December, Israeli officials said their resumption was an important step.
"The resumption of the dialogue will give us a direct sense from the Syrians of their will to reach agreement any time soon," said one official who asked not to be identified.
Christopher said last week that Ross would travel to the Middle East in about two weeks to arrange further talks between Israeli and Syrian military officials.
But the Israeli official said further talks would depend on this week's meetings.
Three years of talks have made little visible progress. Syria demands total Israeli withdrawal from the Golan, but Israel says it will only reveal the extent of its pullback once Syria commits to full peace.
Washington has been trying to focus the talks on security arrangements that would guarantee an Israeli withdrawal. It hopes such security agreements would aid progress on the politically explosive issue of the withdrawal itself.
U.S. analysts said tough Israeli demands on these issues at a meeting last December between Syrian chief of staff Hikmet Shihabi and his now retired Israeli counterpart Ehud Barak scared off the Syrians and caused the talks to collapse.
But U.S. officials said that meeting had been at too high a level and they should have been better prepared. "What's different now is that we have a work plan," said one.
Israeli leaders have been pressing for an agreement before campaigning begins for Israeli elections next year that could bring to power a Likud Party that sees the Golan as too strategically vital to surrender.
Christopher says his tour has breathed new life into the peace process, with Israel and the Palestinians vowing to resolve their differences over Palestinian elections by July 1.
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