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MUBARAK: He believes, not without justification, that the talks should be resumed from the point where the parties had left off a year ago. There is no reason why you should waste the progress that was achieved through the strenuous negotiations in Washington and Wye Plantation.

I discussed the issue with Prime Minister Netanyahu, and it is my earnest home that we can work out an acceptable formula for the resumption of talks with the help of the United States. I need not emphasize the importance of the Syrian and the Lebanese track. We should never miss another opportunity for making progress in peace.

President Clinton has assured me of the fact that the U.S. position on these various issues remains unchanged. That is very reassuring indeed. It reinforces confidence in the U.S. as a reliable sponsor and a promoter of peace in the Middle East. We are determined to pursue our joint efforts in the months ahead with zeal and hope. Together, we shall achieve our goal.

Mr. President, we are both pleased with the progress that has been achieved in our bilateral relations. In recent years, U.S.- Egyptian relations have entered a new era, expanded into new spheres of cooperation and reached greater depth and warmth.

Today, I can say with confidence that we have an economy that is moving toward the future on solid ground. We have established the infrastructure to growth, and we have instituted the necessary reforms and the policy that have placed Egypt in the forefront of emerging economies, attracting substantial capital flows.

We now look forward to years of sustainable high growth, greater investment, and a steady increase in the standard of living of all Egyptians. As we did in the previous stages, we regard the U.S. as one of our most trusted partners in peace and socio-economic progress.

In conclusion, I would like to thank President Clinton and the American people for their continued support and help. You are undertaking a historic mission at this crucial crossroads, and thank you very much.

QUESTION: Mr. President, in casting a veto on the new Israeli settlements in the UN, the U.S. went against the conscience and the consensus of the world. The general assumption is that Israel is trying to force, with military backing, a pre-emptive solution to the status of Jerusalem, rather than going through negotiations as promised. Is that your read on it?

CLINTON: Well, let me answer the two questions at once there. We made it very clear that the decision to build in the Har Homa neighborhood, in our view, would not build confidence, would not be conducive to negotiations, would be seen by the Palestinians and others as an attempt to, in effect, precondition some of the finest, final status issues.

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