A journalist and a former negotiator from the Middle East discuss the progress from the first round of Israeli-Syrian peace talks. The next round is scheduled for January 19.

JIM LEHRER: Now, our Middle East talks update. State Department Spokesman James Rubin briefed reporters this afternoon in Shepherdstown, West Virginia.

JAMES RUBIN: During the course of the Shepherdstown peace talks this week, we have had intensive negotiations on all of the key issues. All four committees have been established and have been working both formally and informally. We have presented a working document to the parties that lays the groundwork for a serious effort to bridge the important gaps that remain. We have decided to recess the talks for a short break. Prime Minister Barak and Foreign Minister Sharaa have agreed to return to the discussions and negotiations on January 19 to continue the negotiations and work further towards a peace agreement. I think it's fair to say that we believe that there is a historic opportunity that now exists, and we hope both sides seize this historic opportunity. Historic opportunities don't come around too often, or they wouldn't be historic.

And so there are any number of issues that could make it harder for such an opportunity to be seized, and we think that one has to bear in mind that intervening events could make it harder, and so, yes, we would like to see this opportunity seized. At the same time, we recognize that these decisions are painful and serious ones for the peoples of the region and the governments in the region, and so we recognize that they're going to have to proceed at a pace they're comfortable with because ultimately it is they who will have to make the decisions.

JIM LEHRER: And to Hisham Melham, who has been covering the talks for the Beirut newspaper, As-Safir; and Joel Singer, who served on the Israeli delegation in the previous talks with Syria. He is now a lawyer in Washington.

JIM LEHRER: Hisham, how do you read this recess? Give us an overview of where things assistant tonight.

HISHAM MELHEM: This is a pause because of the inability of both sides to achieve substantive progress during these talks here, specifically on the issue of territory on the withdrawal. The committee on border committee met for the first time yesterday, Sunday, for an hour-and-a-half only. The Israelis over the last week refused to discuss this issue formally in the committees. So for the Syrians, this was an extremely frustrating situation, and it's very clear that unless there is progress on the border issue, I don't expect any progress on the other committees.

JIM LEHRER: Is the problem whether or not Israel's going to withdrawal, or is it how far they're going to withdrawal, when they're going to withdrawal or is it how far they're going to withdraw, when is it going to withdraw, or what, all of the above?

HISHAM MELHEM: Essentially all the above, but essentially the extent of the withdrawal, whether it's going to with withdraw to the area -- the line of June 4, 1967 on the eve of the war of 1967. I think what you could say is there has been some progress in structuring the talks. Now there is a document written, an American document, which could be the basis in the future for a peace deal. This document enumerated the areas of agreement and disagreements and tells us where we are in terms of negotiations. So, on the issue of procedure, there has within some progress. For the first time they discussed these issues seriously in a tone that was devoid of recrimination, we were told. But when it comes to substance, there has been very little. So Shepherdstown, it was a plus in the area of procedure, but very little progress in the area of substance.

JIM LEHRER: Joel Singer, give us a clean, clear, short version of the Israeli position on the withdrawal thing, as to how far they are willing to go and where the line should be drawn, et cetera.

JOEL SINGER: I don't think that there has been any Israeli clear definition of where Israel is ready to withdraw to. I think that there was a formula presented repeatedly, according to which the depths of the withdrawal would be proportionate to the depths of peace and security arrangements that Syria is ready to provide to Israel. And because the other part of the equation has also remained unclear until now, I think that both sides of the equation are unclear, that is to say Israel is refusing to clarify its side of the equation until the Syrian delegation clarifies its side.

JIM LEHRER: So the position of Israel is that until we know what the security arrangements are going to be, we don't know where we want the put that line?

JOEL SINGER: Exactly.

JIM LEHRER: And is that the way you understand it, too, Hisham Melhem?

HISHAM MELHEM: Yes, that's the Israeli argument. But also the Syrians would argue that if we're going to talk about security arrangements, at least we would know from where those securities arrangements should begin, i.e., where the demilitarized zones should begin. If we don't know the line of demarcation between the two countries, how can you talk seriously about the security zones -- demilitarized zones, how can you talk about water resources if we don't know where the Syrian line will be at the northern shore of Lake Tiberius, for instance? And so on and so forth.

I agree, at one time both sides should make it very clear. The Syrians have said that they accept full peace in return for full withdrawal. And you can hammer out the details. I think what happened here in Shepherdstown is that Ehud Barak was negotiating with both the Syrians as well as the Americans. He was negotiating with the Syrians to get a better deal for himself, but also he was negotiating with Bill Clinton to get the right price, quote unquote, for the deal, in terms of military hardware and upgrading the strategic relationship with the United States, as well as money to finance the withdrawal from the Golan.

JIM LEHRER: Let me ask Joel Singer about that, as far as what Barak's position was. Do you agree with that?

JOEL SINGER: Yeah. I think that what has become clear over the last years, not just the last week, is that Syria is not willing to provide the kind of security arrangements that Israel is interested in. And the question that is now posed before Barak and the Israeli government is whether they can be some sort of supplement provided by the United States in terms of providing Israel with a substitute for the strategic Golan Heights that together with the limited security arrangements proposed by Syria can make the deal happen.

JIM LEHRER: Such as what?

JOEL SINGER: Such as a system that would provide Israel with sufficient early warning and would provide Israel with a stronger response in case of a surprise attack.

JIM LEHRER: And that would be provided by the United States rather than Syria?

JOEL SINGER: In lieu of a sufficient Syrian security package.

JIM LEHRER: Is there any indication on what the United States' willingness is to do or not do that?

JOEL SINGER: I don't know. I know only that in parallel to the Israeli-Syrian negotiations, there is also another element of the Israeli delegation that is negotiating with the DOD on the size...

JIM LEHRER: Department of Defense -

JOEL SINGER: Department of Defense…on the size and contents of such a security package that Israel might receive.

JIM LEHRER: Let's go back to the general point that Hisham Melhem made a moment ago, that yes, there is a serious problem here on specifics, but Shepherdstown did make some progress on style and on tone, et cetera. Do you agree with that?

JOEL SINGER: Well, let me give you one example, and you can be the judge of whether this is progress or not. Almost four years ago I participated in the Wye negotiations with Syria in which with the exception of Foreign Minister Shara, most of the Syrian delegation was the same. We were shaking hands at the time. We were sharing the same eating places. We were eating dinners and lunches together. Now I hear they are eating separate places because Syria doesn't want its delegation to share the same place with Israel and no handshake. Is this progress? I don't know.

JIM LEHRER: Hisham Melham, how would you answer that?

HISHAM MELHEM: Well, look, I mean, this was Ramadan. They had separate times for eating in the trilateral meetings with the president and the American team. They sat at the same tables. They ate together. They broke bread. I mean, what do you want more than that? You cannot be more intimate than that while you're engaged in serious discussions about fateful issues and fateful decisions.

JIM LEHRER: We have discussed that before.

HISHAM MELHEM: Yes. I don't want to revisit it again.

JIM LEHRER: Yes, but that some things -- eating and shaking hands are important for the Israelis and not so important for the Syrians.

HISHAM MELHEM: Well, it's not that. I mean, the Syrians came here thinking that in a week or ten days we will make some headway on the issues of substance. And Israel is, as I said, they drag their feet on allowing a formal meeting for the border committee and the water committee until the last day. So you had seven days passing, until some day when they the committee on borders, the committee on waters had short meetings, official, formal meetings, while the committee on security arrangements and the committee on normal peaceful relationship, these are the two issues of paramount importance for the Israelis, were held formal discussions that lasted for hours on end.

JIM LEHRER: All right. Joel Singer, beginning with you, all of this said, and they've taking a recess, they're coming back on January 19, is there any reason to believe these things are still not on track toward a settlement?

JOEL SINGER: Oh, things are on track. This is something that I need to clarify, notwithstanding the somewhat moody atmosphere as a result of the fact that no agreement was reached within a week, we should look at things with a perspective.

The bumps in the road, the gloomy faces, the walking back home without any signed agreement, the disagreements are all the part of the negotiating process. The negotiations are not over. The United States will continue to work with the parties independently and individually throughout the ten-day break between the two sessions. Sitting together individually, deliberating the position of the other parties respectively is part of the negotiations. Don't forget that President Assad is not present in these negotiations. Think about the practical difficulty for Foreign Minister Sharaa to report to Assad on a daily basis to get changes in the mandate. It's a good one hour-and-a-half drive between the Syrian embassy and Shepherdstown each way. So they need the time to consult and come back with adjusted positions.

JIM LEHRER: So you... we've got to go. Hisham Melhem, you would agree this isn't over by a long shot? Things are still moving.

HISHAM MELHEM: No, no, no. They will be back. There will be another round and another round. And I think the president today was extremely hopeful when he talked about two months wrapping up these agreements. I think he's too ambitious, but I think, as we've said earlier, these issues are complex, but they're not insurmountable.

JIM LEHRER: All right. We'll leave it there. Thank you both very much.