U.S. Mediator Begins Meeting with Israeli, Palestinian NegotiatorsU.S. mediator Aaron Miller began meeting separately with Israeli and Palestinian negotiators in Washington Tuesday in an effort to resolve differences blocking a final peace agreement."Discussions with the parties have begun," a State Department official said. Miller, deputy to U.S. Middle East peace talk coordinator Dennis Ross, is expected to bring the Israeli and Palestinian delegations together Tuesday afternoon to kick off about one week of intense and secretive talks. U.S. President Bill Clinton and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat will meet at the White House Thursday to discuss the issues related to the peace process. The U.S. side, as mediator, reportedly hopes the talks will make enough progress for President Clinton to call a three-way summit with Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak within weeks. The current negotiations, held despite uncertainty over the peace process triggered by Syrian President Hafez Assad's sudden death from a heart attack last weekend, are between delegations led by Israeli Public Security Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami and Palestinian Legislative Council Speaker Ahmed Korei. |
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