The just-concluded Israeli- Syrian talks in Washington have laid a foundation for future negotiations between the two sides, Prime Minister Ehud Barak said in Jerusalem on December 19.

Barak briefed the cabinet on the two days of talks he held last week with Syrian Foreign Minister Farouq al-Sharaa, the first between the two sides since the negotiations over the fate of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights broke off nearly four years ago.

They agreed to launch intensive talks in the United States on January 3 aimed at ending more than 50 years of conflict. US President Bill Clinton called the two-day talks "a new beginning in the effort to achieve a comprehensive peace in the Middle East."

Speaking for the first time since returning from Washington, Barak said in an interview with Israel's Channel Two television Saturday night that some form of preliminary peace agreement could be reached with Syria in a matter of months.

"It is clear that we are talking about a group which has come not only with an understanding of the problems ahead, but also with a willingness to reach an agreement. This is an historic junction," Barak said.

Responding to his comments, the head of one of the coalition partners, the National Religious Party (NRP), threatened to quit the government over peace-making with Syria.

If Barak wrapped up a peace accord, or even an agreement in principle, with Syria over the next three or four months, then the NRP would withdraw from the government, Housing and Construction Minister Yitzhak Levy said Sunday.

The NRP has six seats in the 120-member parliament. The coalition government controls 68 seats.

"I understood from the prime minister that the intention is within three or four months to consolidate an agreement, or an agreement in principle," said Levy, speaking on Israel Radio. " Then, I think we will get to the stage where we can no longer be in the government."

But Justice Minister Yossi Beilin said that he was convinced that most Israelis - including those in the religious camp - would nonetheless approve a peace agreement if it is achieved.

"I have no doubt that if the agreement is reached, and it goes before the people, people will cross political lines to vote for it," Beilin said. "I think in the end of the issue, the majority who will understand that with the agreement, there will be no more wars," he added.