Talks between Syrian President Hafez al-Assad and U.S. President Bill Clinton Sunday might continue late into the night as there has been no signal of conclusion since they began four hours ago. Geneva's chief of protocol said that he was ready for a long night because he considered the talks had been going on in Geneva in a good sense.

The two leaders were holding their first talks at Hotel Intercontinental in Geneva in a bid to revive the Syrian-Israeli peace talks suspended since January

The main sticking point between Israel and Syria has been over the return of the Golan Heights, captured by Israel in 1967. The issues of where the frontier will be drawn, Israel's security concerns and the crucial question of water rights have been central to the negotiations.

A White House official said that he did not expect Syria and Israel to resume the negotiations immediately after the summit, and that the summit itself would pave the way for the resumption. A Syrian official said that President Assad and his U.S. counterpart would exchange views on the current situation of the negotiations between Syria and Israel to see if there exist any elements which could permit the resumption of the negotiations interrupted on January 10.