Shultz Gets Little Help in Syria

DAMASCUS, Syria — Secretary of State George P. Shultz carried his faltering campaign for Arab-Israeli peace today to Syria, where he got little encouragement from President Hafez Assad. Shultz told reporters that the United States and Soviet Union will continue discussions on a Middle East settlement.

Shultz spent about four hours in Damascus, half of it in meetings with Assad, who has taken a hard-line stand on peace with Israel. Shultz briefed Assad on last week’s U.S.-Soviet summit in Moscow. He told Arab reporters that the United States and Soviet Union have “agreed to continue to address ourselves to the Middle East issues.”