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James P. Rubin, Spokesman On-the-Record Telephone Readout to the Press, Middle East Peace Process Shepherd College, Shepherdstown, West Virginia, January 4, 2000

SPOKESMAN MR. RUBIN: Hello? QUESTION: Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth. MR. RUBIN: Good afternoon. Let me make a few comments and then try to take some of your questions. The trilateral meeting just finished. The President and the Secretary met with Prime Minister Barak and Foreign Minister Shara for about an hour. We regarded the meeting as quite productive. It was a comprehensive and rigorous discussion of where we are and where we need to get to. The President and the Secretary were pleased that the leaders of the delegations reaffirmed their commitment to this process and we do expect that all the committees will meet and that all the issues will be discussed in the next couple of days. There will be some committee meetings today and there is expected to be some informal gathering of the various delegations later this afternoon or possibly early in the evening, and the timing of that is still being worked out. So I think we were quite pleased with how today unfolded in light of the hurdles that we had to overcome last night, and the process is clearly on track. QUESTION: Which committees meet first? MR. RUBIN: I won't be able to get into that until they've met and, at that point, I'll try to give you another update at the end of the day today. QUESTION: Which issues were taken up first, then, either three-way or in committee meetings? MR. RUBIN: As I indicated to you earlier, there were discussions that occurred and contacts that occurred during the course of the day today. The committees have not yet met. We do expect committees to meet today and we also expect that during the course of the next couple of days that all the issues will be discussed in one form or another. But what I think I can report to you from the trilateral meeting is that it was a very constructive and productive session that put the process clearly on track and that the President and the Secretary felt that it was a comprehensive discussion; it was a rigorous discussion; and that what was particularly important to them was that the leaders of the delegations reaffirmed their commitment to what we're trying to do here. But as far as the details of which committees will meet tonight and what issues will be discussed, I'm just not prepared to say at this time. QUESTION: What does the rest of the week look like? Will they meet the rest of this week? What about next week? Do you think we'll go to the 13th? MR. RUBIN: I don't have a decision on an end point. I think that people felt that this was a good session. The informal gathering will occur tonight. I think we're going to take it day by day. Obviously, we're going to stay here through the week and then we'll have to see where we stand. QUESTION: Is that Syrians and Israelis together? MR. RUBIN: Yes, informal gathering of all three delegations. QUESTION: Jamie, at the meeting, did it take the form of formal statements by all three parties? How much of it was give and take? MR. RUBIN: It was a very small meeting. There were -- each of the -- Barak and Shara were alone and the Secretary and the President were there so it wasn't a formal plenary of any kind. It was a discussion. QUESTION: Will President Clinton remain this evening, and what time will he return? MR. RUBIN: I don't know when he is going to leave. That's something that hasn't been quite decided yet, but I don't expect him to stay late tonight. QUESTION: Jamie, when you're talking about these informal meetings between -- are you talking about the leaders of the delegations or the -- MR. RUBIN: I'm talking about a large group. QUESTION: So, they're going to get together for a drink or something? MR. RUBIN: Well, I think obviously that wouldn't be appropriate but there will be some informal gathering tonight of a larger group of delegations meeting in the Clarion Hotel. QUESTION: Jamie, are you now in a position to tell us how many committees there are and how they have set up the work between them; what they're called, in other words? MR. RUBIN: Well, not quite yet. As I indicated, they haven't met yet today. We do expect that to happen before the day is out. QUESTION: Have they decided what they're called and how many there are, or is that still fluid? MR. RUBIN: I think because I'm not always able to tell you something doesn't mean that it hasn't happened. QUESTION: That's why I'm asking. Have they decided? MR. RUBIN: I think that, yes, they have a work plan and an organizational structure. QUESTION: Jamie, just to clarify, the trilateral was at the Conservation Center? MR. RUBIN: No, it was here at the Clarion. QUESTION: Jamie, just to clarify also, would you say now that the two leaders met face to face? MR. RUBIN: Yes. QUESTION: And how much of the hour meeting was face to face? And would you call it negotiations? Did they shake hands? MR. RUBIN: I'm not aware of what transpired physically between the leaders. I'm aware of the fact that it was a good discussion and it's part of the negotiating process. QUESTION: How much of the hour, do you happen to know, was taken up by face-to-face talks, and did they deal with issues rather than procedure? MR. RUBIN: The entire hour was taken up with face-to-face discussions between the Syrians and the Israelis, hosted by the United States by President Clinton and Secretary Albright. They did not get into details but, obviously, they made clear the importance of solving the various problems. QUESTION: One of the issues Barry seems to be striving at is did they shake hands and, if they did, would you be permitted to tell us? MR. RUBIN: I think that if they had shaken hands that I would know about it and I wouldn't have any objection to telling you. QUESTION: Jamie, did they speak to each other in English or through interpreters? MR. RUBIN: I don't believe there were interpreters in the room. I think the whole thing was in English. QUESTION: And did Mr. Barak and Mr. Shara speak to each other or to Mr. Clinton, who then -- MR. RUBIN: You couldn't be in a room with just three people, four people, and not speak to each other. QUESTION: Jamie, that's been very forthcoming, so let me reverse the thing then. If they spent most of the time talking to each other, wouldn't that suggest that the President and the Secretary were -- what should I say -- protective overseers but really weren't actively engaged in the discussion? MR. RUBIN: The parties were talking during this hour. QUESTION: So has the US made any suggestions? Did you facilitate any? MR. RUBIN: Again, it was a one-hour discussion. It was not a discussion over texts or anything like that. It was more of a general discussion than a specific discussion over specific words. QUESTION: Do they have any plans to meet again? MR. RUBIN: Not today, other than this general informal session that is expected to take place shortly. QUESTION: How would you describe the difference between the meeting that they had with the President last month and this one in the way that they dealt with one another? MR. RUBIN: I'm not prepared to answer that at this time. I wasn't in the room. I'll have to ask more about that. QUESTION: Was there any difference, though? MR. RUBIN: As I said, I'm not prepared to answer that. I wasn't in the room. QUESTION: Jamie, is the Secretary going to have any other meetings with the delegations this evening? MR. RUBIN: I don't know the answer to that question. I will check that for you. QUESTION: Help me with your cliché. What does "clearly on track" mean? MR. RUBIN: It means that there's a work plan, there's an organizational structure, there's a commitment to do the work - and that's important. QUESTION: Can you spell out -- MR. RUBIN: As opposed to where there are procedural hurdles, for example. QUESTION: Can you spell out what the organizational plan is or the work plan is? MR. RUBIN: Well, the committees will meet; that during the course of the next few days all of the committees will meet and the issues will be discussed. And there are other aspects to the work plan that I'm not prepared to get into at this time. QUESTION: Jamie, can you tell us what's going on right now? MR. RUBIN: Right now, the President and the Secretary are meeting with the peace team and -- QUESTION: The US team? MR. RUBIN: The US team, yes. Then Shara and Barak, I believe, return to their rooms. QUESTION: Will the committees begin their work this afternoon or tonight? MR. RUBIN: There will be committee meetings today, before the day is out. QUESTION: Is the Secretary prepared to stay? MR. RUBIN: The Secretary is planning to stay, yes. She is planning to stay at least throughout the week. QUESTION: What will determine whether the President stays overnight? MR. RUBIN: I don't believe he will stay overnight. My understanding is he will be leaving shortly. It's just a question of how long he stays. QUESTION: When you said that they're going to work at least through the week, that includes the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister as well? MR. RUBIN: As far as I know, yes. QUESTION: Since the President's intervention, was there any specific request of the President to Syria to disarm the ten PLO groups in Damascus or to disarm the Hezbollah? MR. RUBIN: That wasn't the kind of discussion this was. I think there has certainly been a general position that the Syrians - that we've made clear to both sides that this is a time to avoid actions that could interfere with this process and that, in particular, we've talked about the importance of restraint and the Syrians urging restraint on those they have influence on in Lebanon. QUESTION: Jamie, how was the logjam broken? MR. RUBIN: Well, I think I don't really have much to add from what I briefed earlier, so I just don't have anything to add to it. QUESTION: Will the President return by helicopter or by motorcade? MR. RUBIN: As far as I know, it's motorcade. I haven't heard about any helicopters, but I don't know the answer to that. QUESTION: Will you be coming back to brief again, Jamie, after the informal session? MR. RUBIN: I may sort of wrap the day up by coming over there and doing something off camera, but let's just see how the day unfolds. QUESTION: When? MR. RUBIN: I don't know yet. When I have a rough time, I'll have Phil announce it. QUESTION: When does the informal session begin? MR. RUBIN: Shortly. That's still to be determined. QUESTION: When you say informal, Jamie, do you mean like talking about -- MR. RUBIN: Sort of a non-work session, more of an informal gathering. QUESTION: Social? A social occasion, you mean? MR. RUBIN: More social than with pads and pencils. QUESTION: And the US is not going to be involved in that? MR. RUBIN: We will be, and what I'm suggesting is that obviously when delegations like this are together they're talking about their work so it's not like they're going to the ballet. But it won't involve sitting around at tables with pads and notetakers and that kind of thing. QUESTION: Will there be food? MR. RUBIN: When I know more about those arrangements - obviously, the Syrian delegation has their Iftaar and so I just don't know what the plans are for that. When I know something, I'll try to get that to Phil for you. QUESTION: But Clinton isn't planning on being there, right? MR. RUBIN: He may be. I just don't know. QUESTION: Will he be coming back tomorrow? MR. RUBIN: I don't know the answer to that yet either. QUESTION: What are the dinner plans tonight? MR. RUBIN: I don't know. [end of document] Peace Process | Near Eastern Affairs | Department of State