20000410Clinton invites Arafat, Barak to talks in US

NEW ORLEANS: President Bill Clinton has invited Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat to meet him in Washington this month in a bid to add momentum to Arab-Israeli peace talks, the White House said late on Saturday.

The White House said in a statement issued while the president was travelling in Louisiana that Clinton and U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright would meet Barak next Tuesday, and Arafat on April 20.

"These separate consultations are part of the United States' continuing efforts to reach Arab-Israeli peace," the White House statement said.

Clinton administration officials said they did not expect any major breakthrough from the meetings but hoped they would add a needed push to ongoing Palestinian-Israeli talks and try to breathe new life into stalled Syrian-Israeli negotiations.

"In their meeting, President Clinton and Prime Minister Barak will discuss efforts to accelerate and intensify the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian negotiations in order to reach a framework agreement as soon as possible and conclude an agreement on all permanent status issues by Sept. 13, 2000," the statement said.

National Security Council spokesman Mike Hammer said the meetings were another step in the U.S. effort to help secure peace in the Middle East, and said the looming deadline was a good reason to press forward.

"It's important that the process be given continued momentum," Hammer said. "The president believes it's important to engage directly with Barak and Arafat to try to address these issues."

"Clearly the president believes these types of meetings can serve to move the process forward," he said.

The announcement of the talks came after Clinton failed to make headway in a meeting with Syrian President Hafez al-Assad in Switzerland last month. Clinton was trying to restart talks between Israel and Syria that have been stalled since January.

In Cairo earlier on Saturday, Syrian Foreign Minister Farouq al-Shara said the United States would share responsibility for failure to achieve Middle East peace.

"Israel bears responsibility for any steps it takes," Shara said. "The U.S. side will also bear an important part of the responsibility for any support to Israel that does not lead to a just, full and comprehensive settlement.

After the failed talks in Geneva, Clinton angered Damascus by saying later that the ball was in the Syrian court and that it was up to Syria to present new peace proposals.

The White House said in their talks next week Clinton and Barak will discuss the status of the Israeli-Syrian talks and Israel's decision to withdraw from Lebanon by July 2000.

Clinton and Arafat were expected to review Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and "discuss how best to achieve their common goal of a just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians," the White House said.

The statement confirmed an earlier announcement about the meeting made by Barak's office, which said the Israeli prime minister "will discuss with the president ways of advancing the negotiations on the Palestinian track."

Barak's office said the prime minister also would raise with Clinton the upcoming Israeli troop withdrawal from south Lebanon, which Barak has promised to implement by July.

Israel is trying to muster international support for the Lebanon pullout. Syria and Lebanon have expressed alarm at the upcoming withdrawal, which they say could trigger new regional violence.

The announcement on the talks came a day after U.S. diplomats warned that peace negotiations in Washington between Israelis and Palestinians were unlikely to produce results without the involvement of the leaders.

The mid-level negotiating teams, led by Oded Eran for Israel and Yasser Abed Rabbo for the Palestinians, began a new round of talks on Friday at secluded Bolling Air Force Base in the U.S. capital.

The negotiators were meeting to devise a formula for a final peace treaty, which the sides are scheduled to finalise by September. To meet this goal, the Israelis and Palestinians must resolve tough issues such as the fate of Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees.

The negotiators also are discussing a third Israeli troop withdrawal from the West Bank, which could prove to be a stumbling block as the sides are deeply divided over how much land Israel should hand over to Palestinian rule.-Reuters