Erekat: Ross Carries No New U.S. ProposalsPalestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said on Saturday that U.S. Middle East envoy Dennis Ross did not carry any fresh proposals from the U.S. Administration to end the stalemate in the Palestinian-Israeli peace talks.Ross is in the region trying to narrow the gaps between Israel and the Palestinians in a bid to forge a peace deal by the September 13 deadline for a final peace. Erekat, who met Ross at an undisclosed place in Jerusalem on Friday, told reporters that a new summit, following the failed Camp David peace summit on July 11-25, needed intensive preparations, estimations and clarifications on the Israeli position. On the declaration of an independent Palestinian state, Erekat said that the Central Council of the Palestine Liberation Organization would make a decision on the issue in the interests of Palestinian people after being briefed by Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on the outcomes of his Arab and international tour. Arafat is expected to return home on Saturday after his Asian visit and will receive Ross on Sunday to consult with him and mull over how to move the Palestinian-Israeli track forward. During his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak Friday, Ross said U.S. President Bill Clinton would meet Arafat and Barak separately on the sidelines of the U.N. Millennium Summit in New York early next month. |
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