Arafat meets with Clinton, Albright

Palestinian President Yasser Arafat said yesterday that the Palestinians is determined "to reach the comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East, not only on the Palestinian track, but also on the Syrian and Lebanese tracks" despite expected difficulties.

Speaking in a photo opportunity with US President Bill Clinton, with whom Arafat met yesterday, Arafat commented on the peace process, saying, "The negotiations is the best way. This is what happened with Egypt, this is what happened with Jordan and this is what will happen with Syria, as well as Lebanon, and also it happened with the Palestinians with the help of President Clinton."

Clinton said, "The resolution of the issues between Palestinians and Israelis is at the core of the comprehensive effort that we all want to make for peace throughout the Middle East, and we have to work through them."

He sounded an optimistic note on talks on the Syrian track despite the postponement of this week's scheduled round, saying, "I think they'll keep working right along. This is not -- you shouldn't overreact to what has been said about this. I think they're both completely determined to get this resolved in an appropriate way. And I think they'll have things to say about it as we go along here. But don't read too much into this. Actually, the parties have a framework for making these decisions that's more clear and more bridgeable than I would have thought by now."

Arafat also met yesterday with US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to discuss the peace process.