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Clinton,Arafat Discuss Ways to Break Mideast Impasse
U.S. President Bill Clinton and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on Thursday discussed ways to break the deadlock between Israel and the Palestinians that threatens the Middle East peace process.
Emerging from the three-hour talks at the White House, Arafat said the discussions had been "very fruitful".
The Palestinian leader, who arrived Wednesday evening, accused Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak of lacking the will for "a just and comprehensive settlement to achieve peace." He told reporters that "We need the American role to assure the success of the negotiations."
Clinton, who declared "I want to finish the job" before his meeting with Arafat, said he would prefer to say as little as possible about the negotiations.
"If we're going to make peace, we're going to have to deal with the difficult issues, and the less we say now the better, I think, " he said.
When asked if the Israeli-Palestinian talks were in danger of collapse, Clinton responded:"I think it's an important moment and we have to keep working on it."
Ahead of his meeting with Arafat, Clinton reportedly held a long telephone conversation Wednesday night with Barak on the Israel-Palestinian talks in Washington. Details of the discussions were not disclosed.
The Israeli-Palestinian talks, which resumed here Tuesday, have reportedly hit an impasse because the two sides differed on the release of Palestinian prisoners and an Israeli pullback from the West Bank.
The talks in theory are still aiming to pave the way for a summit of Arafat, Barak and Clinton later this month to hammer out a final peace pact between Israel and the Palestinians before the September 13 deadline.
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