Clinton talks to Barak, Arafat about possible summit

July 3, 2000
Web posted at: 9:54 p.m. EDT (0154 GMT)

From CNN White House Correspondent Major Garrett

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. President Bill Clinton telephoned Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat Monday to gauge the value of a possible Camp David-style summit.

Clinton spoke with Barak for fifteen minutes. It was the second conversation between the leaders since Saturday. Clinton then spoke with Arafat for thirty minutes.

National Security spokesman P.J. Crowley said the conversations focused on "process and substance," but that Clinton had made no decision about convening a summit between the two leaders.

Speculation has been rampant in the Middle East about a mid-July summit. An unnamed Palestinian official was quoted Monday as saying the administration had offered July 17 and July 24 as potential dates for a summit.

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A senior administration official told CNN that no dates had been agreed upon, adding that the next 48 hours will be critical in deciding whether to convene a summit within the next few weeks.

The official said the president will have "to rely on his political sixth sense" to decide whether a summit would provoke the breakthrough agreement the United States seeks between Israel and the Palestinians.

If no summit is called in July, the official said one could be called at a later date.

U.S. officials have made it clear to both sides they expect a summit to produce an agreement. For this reason they are unwilling to call a summit until they see real progress on the outstanding final status issues -- Jerusalem, Palestinian refugees, the borders of a Palestinian state, and Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and West Bank.

Senior administration officials want Barak and Arafat to promise they will not leave without a deal if a summit is convened.

A senior administration official also said no decision on a summit will be announced on the Fourth of July.

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Middle East Network Information Center (MENIC)
Palestinian National Authority
Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO)
CIA -- The World Factbook 1999 -- Israel
Israel Government Gate

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