US President Bill Clinton on Thursday called on Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to implement "clear commitments" to end bloodshed between Israelis and Palestinians.
The two leaders made the commitments when they met with US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in Paris on Wednesday, Clinton said.
The three "had what I think was a very productive meeting," Clinton said.
"They made clear commitments which they communicated from Paris to their people to take steps to shut this violence down."
Clinton said the violence must stop, then peace negotiations could resume.
"So the commitments that were made yesterday and communicated by the leaders back to the Middle East now have to be implemented on the ground. That's the most important thing," he said.
He said there would be time later to determine the cause of the recent outbreak of fighting between Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli security forces that have killed more than 70 people.
"They're trying to work out a process in which we've offered to be involved that would evaluate what happened and why and what went wrong," he said.
"There will be ample time for reassessments, there will be ample time for evaluation. But the most important thing is to stop the killing and the dying and the violence." - WASHINGTON (AFP)
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