Assad refrained from demanding a specific reference to the 4 June 1967 border. He was prepared to rely on the explicit reference to the previous negotiations, since the US had been actively involved in them and was familiar with the details. We can nevertheless expect tough negotiations on the border issue. Water remains a difficult problem, especially as the whole Middle East has been suffering from a severe drought for the last two years. But, assuming a peace agreement, it does not appear intractable.
Security is another tough issue.
In 1993-95 Rabin demanded redeployment of Syria's armed forces, including troop reductions and arms control measures. His other main demand was for continued Israeli control of the early warning station on Mount Hermon, a listening post capable of detecting telephone conversations as far away as Damascus. Syria rejected these demands as an infringement of its sovereignty. They would have meant demilitarising the whole stretch of land between the frontier and the capital. It was the only text which both sides were prepared to accept.