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Clinton Still Sees Potential for Peace Deal
After overnight talks with Israeli and Palestinian negotiators, U.S. President Bill Clinton still believed that there was a potential to reach a peace deal at the Camp David summit, the White House said Monday.
Speaking at a media center near Camp David, spokesman Joe Lockhart said that Clinton, just hours after his return Sunday from a summit of industrialized nations in Japan, worked overnight until 5 a.m. Monday at the presidential retreat in northern Maryland.
He first met separately with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and then held "intensive and substantive" discussions with negotiators from both sides.
After a brief rest, Clinton renewed his discussions with negotiators at his cabin beginning 10 a.m. Monday, Lockhart said.
"I think the fact that he was up till five a.m. working through the issues in a very personal, hands-on way, and that he was back at it again early this morning, should lead you to believe that he thinks staying here for the time being is worthwhile," he said.
Lockhart said that Clinton was working on "a rolling assessment "of whether the substance and atmosphere at these talks are one that potentially could lead to an agreement.
"While that is the case, and while the president believes that the discussions are substantive and have the potential of leading to an agreement, he will remain here and he will keep the parties here to keep working," the spokesman said.
"Should he come to the conclusions that the substance of the discussions and the atmosphere of the discussions do not have the potential to lead to an agreement, then he will act accordingly and bring these discussions to an end," he noted.
Lockhart confirmed that George Tenet, director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), had taken part in the Camp David talks to discuss possible security arrangements between Israelis and Palestinians.
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