ASSAD PROMISES DETAILED TALKS WITH ISRAELI NEGOTIATORS.

Byline: Peter Slevin Knight-Ridder Tribune News Wire

Syrian President Hafez al-Assad  took a calculated step toward serious peace negotiations with Israel on Friday, answering Israeli offers and American entreaties with a promise to expand talks near Washington later this month.

With a resolve that is fresh but fragile, the two bitter enemies intend to move from broad themes to hard details that will spell the success or failure of the most promising peace initiative in years.

The U.S.-sponsored peace talks will resume Jan. 24, when military specialists on both sides will join a core group of negotiators for the first time. The closed-door discussions on Maryland's Eastern Shore will be followed by another round of shuttle diplomacy by Secretary of State Warren Christopher.

"I believe we have crossed an important threshold in these negotiations," Christopher said Friday, calling this "a new phase with a new intensity." He believes that Assad and Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres are "determined to see the work completed."

Peres is staking his political legacy on peace, drawing strength and inspiration from his unexpected ascension to office after the October assassination of Yitzhak Rabin. Polls suggest that only a slim majority in Israel favors making the concessions that could lead to a deal, but Peres is pressing ahead.

On the Syrian side, U.S. diplomats who met for four hours with Assad on Friday were struck by the informality of the Syrian leader, well-known for his chilly demeanor. He met one-on-one with Christopher for the first time and made it clear that he wants the negotiations to proceed.

"We feel that for the first time in these negotiations, we have a genuine dialogue," said a senior U.S. official who participated in the talks. "We see much more of a sense of urgency than we have ever seen before."

The gap between the two sides has been narrowed, but is not close to being bridged, U.S. officials said Friday. Or, as Peres told reporters this week, "Peace is not an instant coffee that you can have in one round. You have to negotiate and negotiate."

Assad sent a none-too-subtle sign of his independence Friday when he permitted a meeting in Damascus of the militant Palestinian groups who not only oppose peace with Israel but also oppose Israel's very existence. The groups included the terrorist organizations Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Although Israel is at peace with Jordan, Egypt and the Palestine Liberation Organization, Peres believes that Syria holds the key to a wider Middle East peace. A favorable nod from the hard-line Assad, who sees himself as the defender of Arab nationalism, would open the door for others.