Prime Minister Hariri meets Clinton
Lebanon-USA, Politics, 6/17/1998

US President Bill Clinton received Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri at the White House in Washington D.C. The Lebanese national news agency said that the Lebanese - US talks dealt with peace process developments and the Israeli proposals on conditional withdrawal from south Lebanon, which Lebanon has categorically refused.

US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said, before meeting with Hariri that the Israeli proposal "merits serious consideration."

Hariri stressed during the meeting Lebanon's desire to resume negotiations on the basis of the Madrid conference, the land for peace principle and the implementation of relevant UN resolutions. He also stressed Lebanon's commitment to refusing any Israeli preconditions for implementing UN Security Council resolution 425, calling for unconditional Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon, and highlighted Syrian - Lebanese - Arab solidarity to resume negotiations on the Syrian track from the point at which they broke off when Prime Minister Netanyahu assumed office in Israel.

"Lebanon and Syria are willing to conclude a peace agreement with Israel within three months, if Israel continues the negotiations from where it has stopped," Hariri said in his statment with Albright. Responding to a reporter's question, Hariri said that starting talks from the beginning after previous meetings in which progress was made with Israel "means we would forget all what happened in the past, which is impossible, because nobody can do that. If the government has changed, you change what you agreed upon before. This is not the way to deal between governments and states."

Hariri also cautioned that confidence needs to be restored in the peace process, "Unless the protracted backward slide in the credibility of peace efforts is reversed, the dangers for everybody in the region are real and enormous."

Albright praised Lebanon's reconstruction and its recent municipal elections, and Hariri noted that he would discuss the "great things" that are happening in Lebanon, adding, "I believe many would agree that our potential is a lot greater if genuine peace in the region can be achieved."

The US President stressed his country's desire to give the peace process on all tracks a push forward, noting that the US will continue its efforts to achieve this objective.

Following his meeting with President Clinton, Hariri spoke at a press conference in which he indicated President Clinton's commitment to just peace in the Middle East.

Previous Stories:
  Lebanese Premier to confer with US officials   (6/15/1998)
  Hariri: Beirut results are balanced   (6/9/1998)

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