Israeli Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben Ami moved Tuesday to downplay expectations about separate meetings between US President Bill Clinton and the Israeli and Palestinian leaders in Washington this week.
"There is no room for excess optimism regarding the meetings about the peace process this week in Washington," Ben Ami was quoted as saying by Israeli army radio.
"Nevertheless, we shouldn’t lose hope because Bill Clinton is a leader who is acceptable to both sides, and it will be a long time until another such leader emerges," Ben Ami said.
Clinton is due to meet Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on Thursday and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak on Sunday in a last-ditch bid to end more than five weeks of deadly Israeli-Palestinian unrest -- JERUSALEM (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
