USIA - State Department Report, 97-08-04

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From: The United States Information Agency (USIA) Home Page at <http://www.usia.gov>

STATE DEPARTMENT REPORT, MONDAY, AUGUST 4, 1997

(Middle East peace process, Bosnia, Aegean) (370)

MIDDLE EAST PEACE FACILITATION ACT (MEPFA) -- The fact that Congress has recessed without extending MEPFA authority "doesn't impair our diplomatic contacts with the Palestinians," Foley said. It could, however, cause the Washington office of the Palestinian Authority to suspend its activities, he said. The congressional move could also have consequences for U.S. assistance programs to the Palestinians, although they are generally run through private organizations and not directly through the Palestinian Authority. Foley said the Administration is "looking closely" at the matter.

Foley confirmed that Special Middle East Coordinator Dennis Ross is expected to leave for the Middle East during the week of August 4. His trip will focus on security issues, which Foley called "the one issue on the agenda today." He said the United States is looking for "a sustained, even relentless effort" on the part of the Palestinians to address security concerns. While it may be impossible to stop violent actions completely, the U.S. wants the Palestinians to make a full "100 percent effort" to try.

Foley did concede that Israeli moves to close off the Palestinian areas in the West Bank and Gaza does affect the Palestinian economy and that Palestinian economic well-being remains a critical element of the overall peace process.

BOSNIA -- Foley also noted that the Bosnian factions have been unable to meet the August 1 deadline the international community set to resolve their differences over the naming of ambassadors. As a result, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has asked key nations to suspend contact with current Bosnian ambassadors. This the United States is now in the process of doing. "We support the decision ... We intend to suspend contact," Foley stated.

AEGEAN -- Foley said that the United States was pleased that new Turkish Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz suggested in a recent Newsweek interview that he may be willing to take the dispute over an islet in the Aegean Sea known as Kardak in Turkish and Imia in Greece to the International Court in The Hague.

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