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U.S. Department of State

Department Seal President William J. Clinton
Excerpt of Interview with Michael Kramer of The New York Daily News
Camp David, Maryland, July 16, 2000

Released by The White House, Office of the Press Secretary

Mr. Kramer: How's it going?

The President: I'm more optimistic than I was when they got here. This is really important. We might make it. I don't know. God it's hard. It's like nothing I've ever dealt with. All the negotiations with the Irish, all the stuff I've done with the Palestinians before this and with the Israelis, the Balkans at Dayton. What's really troubling is that they know if they make a peace agreement half of their constituencies will have to be angry at them for a while. But I would be totally misleading if I said I had an inkling that a deal is at hand. That's just not true. But we're slogging.

Mr. Kramer: Will you leave for Japan on Wednesday:

The President: I hope so. I'm gonna do my best to finish here. There's been some progress, but I can't say I know we'll succeed. They're trying. It's so hard. My heart goes out to them. It's really hard. It's the hardest thing I've ever seen.

[end of document]

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