The two day Israel-Syria peace talks concluded successfully, with the two countries pledging to meet in January to continue negotiations.

JIM LEHRER: The observations now of two men who were also with us last night -- Joel Singer -- he has served on Israeli delegations negotiating with Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, the Palestinians, as well as Syria -- he is now in private law practice; Hisham Melhem is the Washington-based correspondent for the Lebanese daily newspaper As- Safir. Joel Singer, how do you read the Secretary's statement "there is a very clear determination by both sides to reach an agreement?"

JOEL SINGER: I think that this is an accurate statement given the fact that you have here Clinton, Barak and Al-Sharaa for the first time, very senior people, on the Israeli side, the most senior on the Syrian side, the second most senior individuals here. Leaders don't come to Washington to negotiate peace with Clinton in between unless they are really determined to also conclude a deal. If they are not sure, they send clerks; they send lower officials.

JIM LEHRER: So it's only a matter of time, Hisham?

HISHAM MELHEM: I think if -- this is going to be a thousand mile journey, these first few steps are promising definitely. The atmospherics were good, not withstanding what we read in the papers here, the discussions were business-like, serious -- everybody saying that we're going on the right track, the foreign minister of Syria saying he's happy with the way the talks are unfolding. We heard the Secretary of State. The President, himself is involved. The fact that they're coming back I think to a kind of an open-ended round of talks, similar to the talks that occurred at Camp David, although nobody wants to hear those words, Camp David, or the Wye Plantation, but this is almost an open-ended round of talks among the two senior players now. All this is promising. I'm sure Mr. Sharaa is carrying with him certain proposals and ideas he would have to discuss with President Assad. I'm sure Barak would have to do the same thing with his own cabinet. So when they come back, I think it will be a more intensive, serious discussion. It's very significant that the United States will be in the room. This is one of the Syrian, if you will, demands or suggestions or expectations. That in itself is significant.

JIM LEHRER: Do you...some people read Secretary Albright's words and body language as if to say, hey, look, this thing is pretty much done. It's just a matter of getting it done now. In other words, the agreement to agree has been reached. Did you read that that way?

HISHAM MELHEM: Again, you know, it's like yesterday. It's very difficult to make that kind of a leap. As you said also the contours in general, the general contours of a peace treaty between Syrian and Israel are known. And when the foreign minister of Syria talks about the border dispute, when we're talking about struggles as we used to talk to them - and we also know that there is an end game here: Withdrawal and return for full peace. Now they may haggle over terms of peace, timetable, exactly where to draw the line between separating the two borders and a few other technical issues relating to security and access to water. These are within the realm of the possible. Then they would be delegated to professionals and technicians later on. But I think the fact that the two principals are coming back in January means that some of the broad issues are not settled yet.

JIM LEHRER: The word that Secretary Albright used, Joel Singer, and also the President and everybody else has used is "difficulties." There are still difficulties to come. What would you put at the top of that list of difficulties?

JOEL SINGER: Well, there is I guess a longer list of difficulties that one would imagine because normally only the major issues are being discussed publicly, but we all know that the list is long. If you just compare the two statements made by Al-Sharaa and Barak yesterday, you can see that Barak talked about our partners, the Syrians. He talked about good neighborly relations. Sharaa was talking about a peace that will eventually lead to competition on relations. I mean, he couldn't bring himself to say friendly relations, our partners. It's apparent sometimes when you read the Syrian press, that Al-Sharaa came here to make peace with the United States, not with Israel. Even the Syrian papers showed the picture of Al-Sharaa and Clinton and not Al-Sharaa and Barak. So on normalization, friendly relations there is a huge gap. On security, we have the early warning stage. Israel cannot give up the strategic Golan Heights without retaining some early warning capability because a surprise attack, a Syrian surprise attack against Israel can destroy Israel. This is a major issue. The Syrians currently do not agree to Israeli presence, but there are some ideas about a third party run -- early warning station with some Israeli involvement.

JIM LEHRER: How do you interpret...the secretary also said that there was more involved here than just the things that... the early warning systems and the technical side, that there's a whole qualitative difference in the relationship is what is really at stake. Do you agree?

HISHAM MELHEM: I mean, you can sense that from the atmospherics and from the talks yesterday -- I mean, the public statements. I disagree with Mr. Singer. If you look at the content of Foreign Minister Sharaa's speech, you see many interesting nuances. Yes, he didn't say we are going to become....

JIM LEHRER: This is yesterday? Neither one has said anything today.

HISHAM MELHEM: Yes, that's true.

JIM LEHRER: All right.

HISHAM MELHEM: But there were subtle nuances and subtle messages to the Israelis. Yes, he was addressing his own public opinion, his own constituency in Syria and beyond in the Arab world, but there's also another speech - if you will -- for the Israelis and the Americans. And this is something normal. Israelis do that and they address their own public opinion from Washington; Sharaa is doing the same thing. I think you're right. It's going to take a different attitude, call it societal attitude, cultural attitude, on the part of both the Syrians and the Israelis towards each other.

JIM LEHRER: But you think that's already been passed, or they wouldn't be here?

HISHAM MELHEM: No, I think he sends the right signals when he talks about competition in the future. I mean, he's not going to talk about great cooperation. And you cannot be too friendly to someone who is still sitting on your territory. I mean, let's be realistic about these things. I mean, it took the Germans and the French a long time to become, you know, to come to terms with good, neighborly relationship. It takes a long time. There is a legacy of bitterness on both sides. And that's what - the foreign minister was criticized yesterday by some people in the United States and Israel because he reminded people of that legacy of bitterness. This is real; this is the real world. We're not talking about ideas and meta physics here. And that's why it's going to be difficult but I think this is a promising beginning. And I see signs from Syria that they are very serious. But, again, they have limitations. They have to regain all their territory; they have to sign the kind of deal with the Israelis that will not make them look weak. They don't want to live in the shadow of Israeli power. They want honorable and dignified peace, and, in that sense, they may be different from the rest of the Arabs that negotiated with the Israelis. Yes, they may be difficult as negotiators; they're formidable negotiators but so are the Israelis too.

JIM LEHRER: Is too much being made about the lack of a handshake?

JOEL SINGER: Well, yes and no. The Syrian approach to negotiations with Israel is completely different than that of president, the late President Sadat of Egypt. If you remember 22 years ago when Egypt and Israel started negotiations, President Sadat came to Israel, to Jerusalem to speak before the Knesset and -

JIM LEHRER: And embraced everybody, right?

JOEL SINGER: -- and he attacked Israel with a smiles and hug attack. Assad at that time said, "what? You're going to Israel? No more relationship between Syria and Egypt. You betrayed Arab cause" and he waited 22 years to begin real negotiations with Israel. So what does he do now through his foreign minister, Sharaa? He says, "I will not shake hands with you." I think that this is a different attitude. I think that from the Syrian point of view, to shake hands with Israel is part of the peace, and Israel needs to pay for it. Syria does not make gestures like Sadat did. You want to shake hand? Give us the Golan Heights. With a smile. We shook hands before.

JIM LEHRER: Do you agree with that?

HISHAM MELHEM: Look, you shake hands after you conclude a deal.

JIM LEHRER: But you don't do it beforehand.

HISHAM MELHEM: These are not theatrics. These are real issues there. People -

JIM LEHRER: They are not theatrics?

HISHAM MELHEM: No, no. No, Sadat was given to theatrics. Sadat liked these things, and the Israelis also practiced public diplomacy and they have done it well sometimes, and one can criticize the Syrians in the past for not doing their share in terms of diplomacy or articulating their views clearly in the past to the media. I mean, people decide on that condition - a lot on that issue in particular - but the issue goes beyond theatrics, beyond styles and atmospherics. We're talking about substantive issues, people who died in this conflict and also talking about security. Mr. Singer talks about security for the Israelis and everybody going to Jerusalem, everybody has to please the Israelis and appease them. The former positions of the Israeli army are barely 35 kilometers from downtown Damascus. When you talk about security, no serious experts in military affairs can tell you that Syria in the foreseeable future can mount a serious threat to Israel. Nobody can tell you that.

JIM LEHRER: Is this going to work?

JOEL SINGER: It will.

JIM LEHRER: Is this going to work?

HISHAM MELHEM: Eventually it will if it's based on equality.

JIM LEHRER: Based on what's happened in the last two days are you optimistic?

HISHAM MELHEM: It's promising. It's promising

JIM LEHRER: Promising. Okay.

JOEL SINGER: Camp David took 18 days. There were so many crises; so many times both Egypt and Israel wanted to pack the luggage and go home. We will have a bumpy road but it will work.

JIM LEHRER: Thank you both very much.

HISHAM MELHEM: Thank you.