Secretary of State Christopher arrived in Israel after a meeting with President Assad in Damascus. In that meeting the arrangements reached the previous week in the wake of Operation Accountability were confirmed Mr. Christopher told the prime minister that he found a changed atmosphere in Syria. This was later termed by the prime minister as "good news. " The state of negotiations with the Palestinians was also discussed Text:
Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin met today (Tuesday), 3.8.93, with United States Secretary of State Warren Christopher.
The meeting - which lasted for about one and a half hours - began with a private session between Rabin and Christopher, who were accompanied by Israeli Ambassador to the United States Itarnar Rabinovich and Dennis Ross, head of the American team to the talks.
At the same time, the Israeli working team (headed by Elyakim Rubinstein) and the American working team (headed by Edward Djerejian) held a working meeting, intended to clarify various issues within the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
Afterward, an expanded meeting was held - with the participation of Prime Minister Rabin and Secretary Christopher -which dealt with ways to advance the negotiations with the Palestinians and with the Syrians.
Prime Minister Rabin thanked Secretary of State Christopher for his objective involvement during the crisis in southern Lebanon - which assisted in achieving the understanding that brought about the cease-fire.
During the meeting, Secretary of State Christopher emphasized the commitment of the United States to act as an "honest broker" in holding open and candid contacts with all the parties - while maintaining credibility and secrecy. He expressed the hope that, during the course of his current visit to the region, it would be possible to advance the peace process.