[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.