Clinton Holds Trilateral Meeting With Barak, ArafatU.S. President Bill Clinton held a trilateral meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat from Friday night to early Saturday morning, the second of its kind since the summit began at Camp David on July 11.A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the meeting lasted 90 minutes until around 1 a.m. EDT (0500GMT) Saturday after Barak hosted U.S. and Palestinian delegations at a traditional Jewish Sabbath dinner at the U.S. presidential retreat on Friday night. The three leaders were joined only by interpreters and note-takers and details of the meeting were not released in line with the total news blackout imposed during the summit. Saturday morning, Clinton held a working breakfast with his advisors to map out the day's talks, the official said. Mindful of the Jewish day of rest, negotiators generally kept to a slower pace on Saturday. The Sabbath lasts from sundown Friday until sundown Saturday. Clinton, Barak and Arafat held their first trilateral meeting on July 11, the opening day of the summit. Since then, Clinton has shuttled between the two sides in a bid to narrow their differences. |
| People's Daily Online --- http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/ |