Israel believes it can reach a peace accord with the Palestinians but is waiting for a declaration of principles from US President Bill Clinton clarifying the basis of future negotiations, Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben Ami said.
"I believe we can otherwise reach an agreement with the Palestinians, or at least a declaration of fundamental principles that will be the basis of any future agreement," Ben Ami said in a meeting Saturday with German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, a transcript of which AFP received Sunday.
Ben Ami said that "the parameters, proposals and ideas" set forth by Clinton for a peace deal "seem to be a reasonable package allowing an accord between Israel and the Palestinians," in the view of both Israel and the European Union.
"We intend to pursue negotiations in this direction, while at the same time working to eradicate terrorism and violence, in accordance with the conclusions of the agreement between (Palestinian leader Yasser) Arafat and President Clinton that we hope to see applied in the coming days," he said.
Ben Ami called on the Palestinians to step up efforts to curb the violence.
"This is more imperative than ever, as today there is a real danger of a deterioration in the peace process if the violence is not stopped," he said -- JERUSALEM (AFP)
