| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
The Middle East Peace Process Q: The Syrians did not arrive in Washington this week. MR. RUBIN: Right. Q: Do you have any prospect for them ever coming? MR. RUBIN: Yes, I think we do expect there to be the kinds of discussions that I've described to you. We have been in diplomatic channels both the substance and the procedure of the Syria track with both Damascus and Washington and we do expect experts from both sides to come in the near future. Given the upcoming travel schedule, obviously, that is going to be slowed down. Ambassador Ross is going to be accompanying Secretary Albright to her meetings in Davos, including with Chairman Arafat and then accompanying her to Moscow where the multilateral track of the peace process will take place. So that certainly makes it--slows down the process a little bit. And we recognize that the parties have differing views on the negotiation and we continue to work intensely with them through diplomatic channels. But this scheduling issue makes it unlikely they will be meeting in the next several days. Q: Is there still a possibility that the Secretary will go to the Middle East after Moscow? MR. RUBIN: I wouldn't rule anything out in this business, but I would say whatever possibility there was has reduced significantly. Q: Jamie, on the Palestinian track, do you guys share the assessment of some Israeli and now Palestinian officials saying that the February 13 deadline is just no longer possible; it's no longer possible for it to be met? And, also, these reports about this Palestinian proposal, the final status proposal, can you say anything about those reports? MR. RUBIN: Yes, we've seen reports on that proposal. Obviously, the parties are negotiating and I'm not going to get into the substance of their negotiations. With respect to the February issue, let me just say Secretary Albright and the President in different fora have discussed this issue with Chairman Arafat. The Secretary intends to ask Ambassador Ross to go from Moscow to the region to work on the Palestinian-Israeli peace track. With respect to the mid-February question, let me say negotiating a framework agreement is a very formidable task and obviously there is a formidable challenge posed by the realities of the calendar. We have to make sure that whatever happens with the calendar, that there is an effective process that can allow an agreement to be produced on all the permanent status issues. So the key point for us is whether we can get an agreement and not so much when the agreement is struck in terms of the framework agreement. Q: Does that mean that you agree that it's basically not--it's not possible-- MR. RUBIN: Well, we recognize that, you know, the clock is ticking and it's the end of January and it's hard to see how that date could be met. But, on the other hand, we want to be sure. And what counts is that there is an effective process so that it can be met at some--I mean, the point is to be able to achieve the substantive agreement, not when that agreement is reached. And we have--will continue to work on that. Q: Can you just fill us in on the various discussions about the possibility of holding marathon talks between Palestinians and Israelis in the United States before the date? Was this ever proposed and what did the United States feel about it? MR. RUBIN: Right. I don't intend to describe to you what every different procedural or substantive proposal was made by various parties, except to say that Chairman Arafat and the Secretary spoke yesterday, that Ambassador Ross is expected to go to the region from Moscow, which would mean late next week he would be there, which would be the end of the first week of February. That is the next real opportunity for us to see where we can be helpful in the peace track between Israel and the Palestinians and, beyond that, I am not going to speculate on next steps. Q: Can you tell us what it was that prevented the Syrian and Israeli experts from coming to Washington at the time which was initially proposed? MR. RUBIN: Well, there clearly wasn't a willingness to come at the initial suggestions. There were some mixed signals there. And let me simply say the pace of this process is going to be determined by the parties. We can't push them any faster than the two sides are willing to go. [end of document] Peace Process | Near Eastern Affairs | Department of State | Secretary of State |
