US President Clinton took a new tack on January 7 aimed at accelerating their sluggish talks on land-for-peace. Clinton presented Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Syrian Foreign Minister Farouq al-Shara with a US-drafted paper which US hopes will help negotiators finally to get down to business.

``This working document provides a summary of the issues to be decided and the differences between the parties,'' said White House spokesman Joe Lockhart.

``It is designed as a procedural tool to focus the substantive discussions and to help bridge the differences that now exist,'' he said.

The trilateral meeting was the first direct contact between Barak and Shara since Tuesday. Negotiators from both sides have not met face-to-face since Wednesday.

The talks adjourned on the evening of January 7 until Saturday night for the Jewish Sabbath and for the Muslim Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.

Lockhart said both sides would be looking at the document on Friday and Clinton might return for talks with the principals over the weekend.

``Working along, working along,'' was all Clinton would say when reporters asked him how his mediation efforts were going following his fourth visit in five days to the negotiating venue in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, 65 miles from Washington.