[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 3 (Monday, January 24, 2000)]
[Pages 90-91]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Exchange With Reporters at the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Washington

January 17, 2000

Israel-Syria Peace Talks

    Q. Mr. President, are the peace talks still on track?
    The President. We're working on it. That's what I've been doing this 
morning.
    Q. Who are you talking to?
    The President. Just our team, so far today.
    Q. Mr. President, the Syrians say there is an issue that needs to be 
resolved before they can come; they may not come on Wednesday. Is that 
right?
    The President. I'll probably put out something later today. I'm 
working on it, trying to make sure--we're trying to figure out what the 
most effective way to go forward is. The good news is I'm convinced they 
both still want to do it. They're not as far apart as they might be; 
they're not as far apart as they have been. So that's the good news.
    The difference is right now about how or what the best way to go 
forward in the--so I'm working on it. We'll try to make a decision by 
the end of the day, the next couple of days, about what the best way to 
go forward is, and we'll let you know.
    Q. Meaning a decision as to whether there will actually be talks on 
Wednesday?
    The President. Yes. The decision about what the best way is, based 
on where they both are, to take the next steps.

Move to Chappaqua

    Q. Are you going to start doing this in Chappaqua?
    The President. If I need to. [Laughter] I've done a lot of other 
stuff. We've got a lot of work to do on that place. But it's a great 
house, and we're making progress. We did a lot of work the last few days 
when I was up there.

President's Race Initiative Report

    Q. Mr. President, some are curious about how your book on race 
relations is coming on this Martin Luther King Day. Can you give us an 
update on that?

[[Page 91]]

    The President. You know, I'm not going to put it out until I have 
lots of time personally to spend on it. I don't want it to be something 
somebody else did that my name is on. The Middle East peace talks took 
away a lot of the time that I was going to spend on it, so I'm a little 
behind. But I'm working on it.

Note: The exchange began at 11:01 a.m. in the computer lab. A tape was 
not available for verification of the content of this exchange.