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IJS. Acknowledges Others Efforts.on Hostages
By Ann Devroy
Washington Post Staff Writer
The ( Bush administration ac-
knowledged yesterday that a vari-
ety of private individuals, foreign
diplomats and others are trying to
gain the release of U.S. hostages in
Lebanon, but said none of the ef-
forts has led to any indication that a
hostage release is imminent.
White House spokesman Marlin
Fitzwater, responding to what he
said were a half-dozen recent re-
ports about hostage-related devel-
opments, said, "there is a lot hap-
pening" behind the scenes indepen-
dent of the U.S. government.
Repeating the denial that any
U.S. official is directly involved in
talks, Fitzwater said intermediaries
such as businessmen in the region,
diplomats of other nations, families
of hostages and their employers and
officials with Lebanese and Iranian
contacts all have worked on the
hostage problem. Some of these
people, he said, "haye had contacts
with the U.S. government" and
"have told us what they are doing;
they have asked us for advice."
But those efforts are not being
made on behalf of the U.S. govern-
: ment nor are they directed by it,
Fitzwater said. He said all interme-
diaries who contact the administra-
tion are told the Bush policy that
hostages must be released without
conditions. "No deals. If you can be
helpful, fine, but keep in mind-this
is our policy: no deals," Fitzwater
said.
Eight Americans and 10 other
Westerners are being held hostage
in Lebanon. Most are believed held
by Shiite Moslem factions loyal to
Iran. Fitzwater repeated President
Bush's inaugural call to Iran to re-
lease the hostages for the promise
of U.S. "good will" to follow, and
said the administration wants direct
talks with Iran on the hostages.
Asked about movement on the
issue, Fitzwater said, "We cannot
say there is any movement. We
know of no imminent release."
Speculation about possible re- ..
lease of the hostages, some of
whom have been held for five years,
has been fueled by reports in Mid-
dle Eastern publications and by in-
dications from Iranian leaders of a
new willingness to discuss release.
The latest report quotes Syrian
sources that Mahmoud Hashemi, a
senior Iranian official, met Sunday
in Damascus with Syria's foreign
minister to "coordinate efforts" be-
tween Iran and Syria on release of
the hostages. Hashemi, brother of
Iranian President Hashemi Rafsan-
jani, arrived in Damascus from Bei-
rut, where he reportedly met with
Shiite Moslem groups on the hos-
tage issue.
State Department spokesman
Margaret Tutwiler said the admin-
istration is "not aware of any ...
discussions that may be taking place
in Syria on hostages." She reiter-
ated Bush's denial over the week-
end that he called French officials
on the hostage issue, and Vice Pres-
ident Quayle's denial on Sunday
that former secretary of state Cy-
rus R. Vance was officially negoti-
·ating hostage releases.
Washington Post
6 march 1998
Approved For Release 2000/08/08 : CIA-RDP96-00789R000401020009-6
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