    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (2000, Book I)]
    [March 28, 2000]
    [Pages 541-542]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Following Discussions With President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and an Exchange With Reporters
    March 28, 2000

        President Clinton.  Let me begin by saying that I am delighted to
    have President Mubarak back here. We have a lot to discuss today. I want
    to talk with him about the peace process in the Middle East, about the
    movement on the Palestinian track, about my meeting with President
    Asad, and what further steps he thinks we
    could take on the Israel-Syria track. And we have a lot of other things
    to discuss as well.
        So I'm looking forward to this meeting, and I want to welcome you
    here, Mr. President.
        President Mubarak. Thank you, sir.

    Middle East Peace Process

        Q.  President Mubarak, the peace process seems to be faltering
    again, especially after the failure of the Geneva talks. What is your
    vision, Mr. President? What can Egypt do in order to break this
    deadlock?
        President Mubarak.  First of all, I thank President Clinton just for
    meeting me today. And we used to exchange views every now and then. We
    have very good relations with the President since he took office 8 years
    ago.
        Today we are going to discuss so many issues about the Middle East,
    about even bilateral relations. And concerning the Geneva meeting, I
    cannot say that's a failure. It's a step forward, although no progress
    between the Israelis and the Syrians, that doesn't make us pessimistic.
    We have to make much more effort so as to reach peace and an agreement
    could be signed, for the welfare of the whole area.

    Oil Prices

        Q. Mr. President, there's word out of Vienna that OPEC has reached a
    deal now. Are you now looking forward to a decline in oil?
        President Clinton. Have they, in fact, announced that?
        Q. The Venezuelan representative has.
        President Clinton.  Well, first of all, I think I ought to wait to
    issue a definitive comment until they actually vote and reach an
    agreement. But my concern has always been that the oil price production
    be increased to a level sufficient to ensure continued growth in the
    global economy and continued growth here at home and that, therefore, by
    definition, to alleviate some of the serious burdens that some of our
    people have felt, particularly the truckers and the people who commute
    long distances.
        But I want to wait and see. I've heard some encouraging things about
    what OPEC will do in combination with what some of the non-OPEC members
    will do. And in the aggregate, it could be sufficient to get production
    and consumption back into alignment and to rebuild some of these stocks,
    which are at their lowest point in a decade. And if that happens, then
    I'll be encouraged, but I want to wait and see.

    [[Page 542]]

    Middle East Peace Process

        Q.  President Clinton, how much faith do you have in peace being
    concluded before you leave your tenure here?
        President Clinton.  Well, I think we are making and will continue to
    see good progress between the Israelis and Palestinians. I went to
    Switzerland to meet President Asad, to
    clarify to him what I thought the options were and to hear from him what
    his needs are. I asked him to come back to me with what he thought ought
    to be done. So the ball is in his court now, and I'm going to look
    forward to hearing from him. And we're going to talk about what else I
    can do, what else we can do together. President Mubarak has been at this
    longer than I have, and we're going to keep working.
        Q.  President Clinton, your term ends in a few months now. Do you
    think the Israelis are ready to go along and finalize the peace process
    during that period? And what do you think the steps that they are going
    to take? For President Mubarak, do you foresee a solution in the near
    future?
        President Clinton.  Well, I think they are making very serious
    efforts. And I think Prime Minister Barak would
    like to do this as quickly as he can. And I can tell you they have made
    very, very serious efforts on all tracks, and I think you will continue
    to see progress at least on the Palestinian track. And of course, I hope
    we'll have some progress on the Syrian one, as well--as well as in
    Lebanon.
        President Mubarak.  This information concerning the Middle East
    problem cannot stay as it is now. Tremendous efforts are being done by
    the United States with the cooperation with us. And I hope that we could
    reach a solution between the two sides, and especially I may meet with
    Mr. Barak soon after I return back to Cairo, to see what could be done.

     Note: The President spoke at 10:41 a.m. in the Oval Office at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to President Hafiz al-Asad of Syria
    and Prime Minister Ehud Barak of Israel. A reporter referred to Minister
    of Energy and Mines Ali Rodriguez-Araque of Venezuela, head of the
    Venezuelan delegation to OPEC, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting
    Countries. A tape was not available for verification of the content of
    these remarks.