U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Daily Press Briefing
July 5, 2000

                           


MR. LOCKHART:  I don't have any announcements, so we'll get right to your questions, if any.

  Q    Joe, what are the coverage arrangements for next week?

MR. LOCKHART:  We haven't had a chance to really work that out,but I expect them to follow probably pretty closely what we did at Wye,which is, we'll try to find a place in the vicinity where the pool can be nearby and available if necessary.  But I wouldn't expect that you will see a lot of the leaders or hear a lot from them once they've started their discussions.

Q    How important is this to the President, personally, to his legacy, to overuse the term?

MR. LOCKHART:  It is an overused word, and I think there has been quite a misconception about the timing of this having something to do with the President's time left in office.  The timetable for these discussions, these negotiations, have been set by the parties.  They want to get this done in a way that I think, as the President has indicated and the leaders have indicated, between now and the September time frame that they, themselves, set.

I think the President believes we have a real opportunity here. We have been working, and he has been working very hard over the last seven years to try to bring us to a point where we could reach an agreement, and it's certainly his hope that we can get that done.

But it has everything to do with the benefits that we'll derive throughout the region to a peace agreement.  I have been around him a lot, particularly in the context of these discussions, and I've never heard a discussion about the impact on him, personally, either from his advisors or from him.

Q    So you don't think he has that in mind at all?

MR. LOCKHART:  I think what he has in mind is this is an important accomplishment for the Middle East if it can get done, and that's what his focus is.

Q    Has there been any attempt, or will there be, to reach out to Republicans, in particular George W. Bush, to be in some support of this operation?  Because obviously, the new administration, either Gore or Bush, is going to have to fulfill a lot of the terms, if indeed this is successful, the financial obligations and so forth.

MR. LOCKHART:  I think on the financial, to the extent that our support is necessary to move forward, the President will consult closely with Congress and congressional leaders.  He's done that over the last seven years so I expect it to continue.
As far as consulting with Governor Bush, I think we probably would be getting a little ahead of ourselves on a number of fronts there, so I don't expect that to happen.

Q    Joe, do you expect the leaders to go straight out to Camp David, or will they come to the White House before all of them go --

MR. LOCKHART:  I don't, at this point, expect them to come here.When and how they will get to Camp David I'm not certain of yet as far as their arrivals.  I don't know that they are arriving precisely at the same time.  But I expect at this point -- and obviously we'll let you know if that changes, that will begin Tuesday out at Camp David.

Q    Joe, he said that he thought that within several days, they would know whether or not they would be able to reach an agreement.  Do you envision that this process will take a week, or --

MR. LOCKHART:  I don't know how to put a timetable on it, only to reiterate that the President has an important trip to the G-8 in Okinawa that I believe begins on the 19th or the 20th, so it's sometime in that time frame.

  MR. CROWLEY:  He leaves the 19th.

  MR. LOCKHART:  Yes, I think the President was saying -- I think he was using several days. I don't know that within a day or two it will be known where this process is going, but we do have a window, as the previous briefer made clear, that we're working in and it's obliviously extraordinarily difficult issues that the parties need to work through and come to agreement on.
But as the previous people who have been in this room have indicated, there was a logic to going forward.

Q    Joe, has the President made any contact with any other world leaders to ask them if they would make themselves available for this process, whether it's Syria or Jordan or Lebanon -- talk about refugees, or whether it's Europe to talk about other aid to the region?

MR. LOCKHART:  I don't know that the President has talked to anyone at this point with the exception of the leaders that are personally involved.  I know the Secretary has made some calls and I expect that we will touch all interested parties letting them know about what we're embarking on here.

Q    So you wouldn't expect anyone else be called to be called to

MR. LOCKHART:   I don't want to rule it out, but I am not aware that he's got any calls that he plans now.

Q     Joe, is there any thinking about what type of money we may be talking about and for what purposes the money may be used -- money that you would have to get the Congress to sort of secure this agreement?

MR. LOCKHART:  Again, I think that's a little bit ahead of where we are in the process now.  I know the President -- in the past, we have found a way to participate in this process through providing help in the region.  I think the President -- if that helps move that process forward, would be open to that, but clearly it's an issue he will need to consult closely with Congress on and he will when it's appropriate.

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