Annan urges Barak, Arafat to continue peace effort

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -- Secretary-General Kofi Annan expressed disappointment on Tuesday at the failure of U.S.-mediated Middle East peace talks but encouraged the Israeli and Palestinian leaders to persist in efforts to find compromise solutions.

"The secretary-general is disappointed that, despite strenuous efforts at the Camp David summit, the parties were not able to reach an overall agreement," a statement issued through a U.N. spokesman said.

"Given the seriousness of the issues involved and their importance for reaching a comprehensive peace in the Middle East, he encourages Prime Minister (Ehud) Barak and Chairman (Yasser) Arafat to persist in their efforts to find compromise solutions with courage and vision," the statement added.

Annan commended U.S. President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright for "their extraordinary efforts to facilitate progress," the spokesman said.

The U.N. chief's statement was issued shortly after White House spokesman Joe Lockhart announced, on the 15th day of the marathon talks, that Clinton had concluded that "the two sides are not able to reach an agreement."

Each side blamed the other for the breakdown of the talks and said the future of Jerusalem proved to be the insurmountable obstacle.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For more Middle East news, myCNN.com will bring you news from the areas and subjects you select.

See related sites about Middle East

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.