Albright, Barak hold joint press conference in Jerusalem

US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright has described her talks with the Israeli prime Minister Ehud Barak and his foreign minister David Levy as very good.

She said that every body has agreed that we have reached a very important stage, noting that the issues now debated between the Israeli and Palestinian sides are still the most complex, especially issues pertinent to the final status stage.

In a press conference she held with Levy in occupied Jerusalem on Wednesday, Albright added that the US president Bill Clinton is the one who will decide whether a tripartite US, Israeli and Palestinian meeting will be held in the future," noting that " the US President asked me to study if conditions are ripe and suitable for convening such a meeting."

For his part, Levy said that Israel will not retreat before what he called the Palestinian threats. " We want from the Palestinian side only to show flexibility and to agree middle solutions."

Levy continued the Palestinian side has to abstain from making statements that takes negotiations back, noting that these include the return back to June 1967 borders, dividing Jerusalem and returning back the Palestinian refugees and other issues pending between the two sides. The Israeli radio reported.