CLINTON, ASSAD FAIL TO FIND FORMULA FOR "CLASSIC COKE", DEEMED ONLY REMAINING OBSTACLE FOR RENEWING ISRAEL-SYRIA TALKS

GENEVA (March 27, 2000 Whirled Wire Service) - President Clinton and Syrian President Hafez Assad failed to discover the formula that would allow peace talks between Israel and Syria to resume after meeting for three hours Sunday – the formula for "Classic Coke".

"The differences between today's Coke and the Coke of yesteryear are so significant and important to the Syrians that without that formula, we're not going to make any progress," White House spokesman Joe Lockhart said.

He characterized the meeting between Clinton and Assad - their first face-to-face summit in six years as "very useful." But at the same time, he said, "We don't expect anything significant to result until our negotiations with Coca-Cola reach a successful conclusion."

"It is impossible to predict what the people at Coke are thinking let alone the Syrians," he added.

Syrian presidential spokesman Jubran Kourieh said that during the talks Assad stressed the importance of Syria's long demand for the Classic Coke recipe, made in large part because Syria feels that the U.S. government, acting on behalf of the Isrealis, put pressure on Coca-Cola to make the formula secret.

In Jerusalem, Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh said in a telephone interview that the main sticking point in Geneva was Syria's demand for a prior commitment to cede the strategic formula before the Golan Heights could even be brought up

"The fact that Syria insists upon dictating an agreement and not obtaining an agreed-upon agreement is what made the resumption of the talks impossible," Sneh said. "They are quite intransigent about what they are supposed to give in terms of security arrangements, all because of some damn soft drink recipe.  Hell, I didn't even think that Arabs drank Coca-Cola."

Clinton left Geneva shortly after the meeting broke up, leaving Lockhart behind to speak to reporters. The president arrived back in Washington shortly before midnight.

The spokesman said the United States will continue to mediate between Israel and Syria and that both sides are committed to reaching peace.

"In our judgment it is not worthwhile to have meetings just to have meetings," Lockhart said.

Expectations had been high going into the negotiations, in part simply because the 69-year-old Assad, who rarely travels, made a special trip to Switzerland to see Clinton, and had not made mention of Coke-related issues in the two weeks leading up to the conference.

But as the day wore into evening, hopes diminished that the talks at a luxury hotel overlooking Lake Geneva would produce an agreement, when an obviously irritated Assad pulled out an 18-ounce bottle of new Coke and exclaimed, "This stuff is total crap.  What are you trying to do, kill us?"

Lockhart suggested that it was unlikely the formula could be given away, "just because one crazy ruler has a bee in his bonnet about it".

Mubarak, a key figure in all peace negotiations in the region, had a scheduled meeting with Clinton in Washington on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Clinton's Mideast envoy, Dennis Ross, was headed back to Israel to brief Barak on the talks.

Clinton, whose cabinet has had a rocky relationship with Coke, mediated talks in Shepherdstown, W.Va., which broke off in January. The president has been working intensely for their resumption. Time is running out on Clinton's presidency and his hopes to polish his legacy with his vision of "a drink for peace."

In Switzerland, the two sides talked for more than two hours, took a two-hour break, where blindfold taste tests were arranged by the Syrian mission, and then resumed the meeting, Lockhart said.

Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and national security adviser Sandy Berger accompanied Clinton into the meeting, along with chief of staff John Podesta, Ross, and another aide.

Assad was accompanied by Foreign Minister Farouk al-Shaara, Abdul Raouf al-Qasem, head of the National Security Office, and a legal adviser.

In separate interviews broadcast Sunday on ABC, Jordan's King Abdullah II and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat each expressed hope for success in Geneva.

"I believe this is the golden opportunity for the Israelis and Syrians to achieve some sort of peace," Abdullah said.

Arafat, who is engaged in his own fitful peace negotiations with Israel, said he hoped progress on a deal between Israel and Syria will generate momentum for a deal with the Palestinians. The United States had acted as host and go-between in that process, as well.

The day was summed up superbly by an increasingly agitated Secretary Albright, who said, "I think everyone here is on drugs. When there is an impetus for anything to happen, let me know.  I'll be drinking a Pepsi in my room."