Clinton, Arafat Agree to Continue Peace EffortsU.S. President Bill Clinton and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat have agreed during their Wednesday's talks in New York to continue making efforts in the coming 24 hours to resume the stalled Palestinian-Israeli peace talks.Nabil Abu-Rudeina, Arafat's political advisor, Thursday told Voice of Palestine radio that the meeting, held on the sidelines of the ongoing U.N. Millennium Summit, touched upon U.S. proposals for breaking the deadlock in the talks. However, no solutions acceptable to both parties were reached. The gaps between Palestinian and Israeli positions still exist, he added. The Palestinian official stressed the necessity of reaching a peace agreement between the two sides as the situation does not allow any more delay. Israel and the Palestinians have set a target date of September 13 for reaching a permanent peace agreement, and Arafat has announced on many occasions that he would declare an independent Palestinian state by the deadline, with or without a peace deal with Israel. Clinton, during his separate meetings with Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, urged the two sides not to miss the landmark chance to strike a final peace accord. |
| People's Daily Online --- http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/ |