Confirming a delay in current talks with Syria, Walker said this was due to Syrian foreign minister Farouk Shara’s recent heart attack.
“The heart attack has led to a delay in the negotiations,” Walker said. “So there is sort of a pause that has interceded in the momentum that was being established.”
Meanwhile, Barak, who last week also pointed to Shara’s hospitalization as a reason for the slow pace of the talks, said Saturday that “there are very many kinds of indirect contacts with the Syrians” and to “expect surprises.”
Barak told Israel’s Channel 2 that he stood by a campaign pledge to get the Israel Defense Force “out of Lebanon and deep in talks with Syria” by mid-2000.