Clinton Says he 'might' Visit Middle East

Published October 11th, 2000 - 02:00 GMT
Al Bawaba
Al Bawaba

US President Bill Clinton said Wednesday he might visit the Middle East, adding that he was engaged in intense telephone diplomacy in a bid to halt Israeli-Palestinian violence. 

"Secretary (of State Madeleine) Albright or I might go, maybe in time we will both go," Clinton said, adding that he had had a long conversation Wednesday with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, who is in the region on a peace mission. 

"The most important thing is that we all keep working to calm things down," Clinton told reporters at the White House. 

"I can do a lot here on the phone," said Clinton who noted that he had been spending of lot of days and nights talking to regional leaders. 

"I hope the United States is having a positive impact," he added. 

"There are a lot of people dying over there, we need to stop people dying ... my goal is to stop people dying and then get them back together." 

Washington has pushed in recent days for a summit involving Clinton, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to reduce tension surrounding the peace process. 

Some 100 people have died in nearly two weeks of violence between Palestinians and Israeli security forces - WASHINGTON (AFP) 

 

 

© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)

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