Clinton, Barak Discuss Middle East Peace IssuesUS President Bill Clinton and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak discussed prospects for the Middle East peace process in a phone call on Saturday but made no decision on whether to hold a three-way summit with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, the White House said in Washington.A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the 45-minute call was a "serious conversation" on the issues involved in the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations toward a peace settlement. "Regarding the peace process, no decisions have been made," the official said. He did not ruled out the possibility that Clinton would also talk to Arafat. The Israelis and Palestinians have set September 13 as the deadline for a final peace agreement. Both Clinton and Barak hope to have a summit with Arafat in the near future to hammer out details for a final peace settlement. Palestinian officials have argued, however, that a summit was doomed to fail without a further narrowing of the gaps, and have asked for more talks at a lower level. |
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