US President Bill Clinton said Monday that the best way to achieve a calmer situation in the Palestinian territories was through the implementation of the Sharm el-Sheikh agreement, White House spokesman, Jake Siewart, was quoted by the Jerusalem Post as saying.
Clinton’s remarks came during a telephone call with Israel’s Prime Minister Ehud Barak, said the daily.
"The prime minister told the president that he's made it very clear that he wants to find a path back to peace and, ultimately, to the bargaining table," Siewart added.
According to the daily, both the White House and State Department refused to comment on Israel's decision to take a greater offensive posture in military confrontations with the Palestinians.
In the meantime, Israel’s Acting Foreign Minister, Shlomo Ben Ami, will meet with Secretary of State Madeleine Albright Wednesday in Washington to discuss the situation, said the daily.
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Clinton and Albright were doing all they could to revive the peace process, but that the violence would have to be halted before negotiations could resume.
The US, he said, would continue to play an active role despite criticism in the Arab world that the US is no longer an honest broker, according to the Jerusalem Post.
"Until the parties tell us they don't want us anymore, or they're not prepared to pursue peace, I think the essential fundamentals of our role will not change," Boucher said.
In a Paris meeting Monday, Ben Ami told his French counterpart, Hubert Vedrine, that Israel is opposed to unilateral moves despite Barak's recent talk of a unilateral separation from the Palestinians.
"Israel's only expectation is that the Sharm agreements be implemented immediately," Ben Ami said.
He added, however, that unilateral steps by the Palestinians, such as a declaration of statehood next month, will require a defensive response on Israel's part.
Ben Ami was in Paris Monday on the first leg of a journey that will take him to Britain on Tuesday, and the US on Wednesday.
According to a statement issued by his office, Ben Ami reminded Vedrine that Europe took part in drawing up the Sharm understanding, and therefore “Palestinian violations are a challenge to the readiness of Europe to bring back a spirit of negotiations to the region." – Albawaba.com
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
