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Camp David Talks Continue in Clinton's Absence
The three-way Middle East peace talks continued on Thursday at Camp David, Maryland, although US President Bill Clinton left in the morning for a summit of industrialized countries in Japan.
"Camp David discussions continue between the parties on the core issues of permanent status, " State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told reporters.
He said Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who is now leading the US delegation in the absence of Clinton, met separately with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak.
"She will continue to try to close the gaps and move forward on the issues so that when the president returns he can assess the status of our efforts," Boucher said at a temporary media center near the presidential retreat.
"She's here to carry the ball forward," Boucher said. "The same pattern and intensity will be maintained."
Clinton, Arafat and Barak began their Camp David summit on July 11 in a bid to work out a framework agreement for a permanent settlement of the 52-year Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Mainly due to gaps on the status of the holy Jerusalem, Arafat and Barak failed to reach any agreement despite nine days of intensive shuttle mediations by Clinton.
The summit had been declared dead midnight Wednesday but was apparently salvaged when Clinton announced that Arafat and Barak agreed to remain and continue talks at Camp David even after he was away in Japan.
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