Bill Clinton: “I think we have to keep the talks going, but I think first we need to focus on implementing this agreement. And if you…”

“I think we have to keep the talks going, but I think first we need to focus on implementing this agreement. And if you look at what happened in Norway--I mean, I think it was quite important. But if you go back and look at how it fit with the talks going on here in Washington, the question of the relationship of Israel to the PLO is such a volatile one that I doubt seriously that this agreement ever could have been made in Washington with anybody's involvement because of the intense publicity surrounding everything that happens here. The thing that Norway did that was so important was to provide a representative of Israel and a representative of the PLO a chance to talk over an extended period of time in absolute secrecy so that they were free to say things to one another and to explore ideas without having to read about it in the paper the next day. And I think it was very important. Our job during this time was to keep this process going, not to let the deportation crisis and the crisis occasioned by the raids in the Bekaa Valley or anything else derail this. And I was pleased with the agreement which came out which was very like the original principles the United States put on the table and that it included the Gaza-Jericho resolution which we were very pleased by.”