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Middle East Peace Summit: Three Leaders Meet; All Agree to Media Blackout

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LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: We move on now to the latest on the Mideast Peace Summit. The White House says President Clinton is getting into the substance of the issues facing Israeli and Palestinian leaders.

CNN White House correspondent Kelly Wallace joins us once again from Thurmont, Maryland, which is near Camp David, where that summit is being held -- Kelly.

KELLY WALLACE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Leon, we should get some sense, underline the word sense, and some, rather, of how this second day of the talks will proceed at a briefing by White House press secretary Joe Lockhart about two hours from now.

But as we've been reporting all morning, all sides have agreed to a virtual news blackout. So getting any real details about what is being discussed behind closed doors is going to be very, very difficult. The only time we saw the leaders yesterday was just before they went behind closed doors for their first three-way meeting. We saw President Clinton, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, taking a walk in the woods, if you will.

The three leaders looked very happy to be there, Mr. Clinton stopped and told reporters that they have agreed not to answer any questions or make any comments. Mr. Clinton, also before that walk in the woods, met separately with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, he also had a meeting with the Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak. And then last night he had separate meetings with each of those leaders once again. Then all the leaders and their negotiating teams got together for dinner.

The White House describes the talks as informal and constructive, said they got off to a good start with a good atmosphere. But has also -- the White house is also saying that they are engaged in serious discussions and that they are getting to the substance of these issues.

Now we do know, senior administration officials tell CNN that President Clinton is prepared to force discussion about possible compromises as the talks proceed. One of those compromises focuses on Jerusalem. Both sides are claiming ties to the holy city. The compromise would leave Jerusalem mostly in Israel's hands but would carve out the portion of East Jerusalem, dominated by Arabs, for the Palestinians. Again, that is just one of many very thorny and difficult issues these leaders need to resolve if they are going to put an end to their half-century old conflict -- Leon.

HARRIS: Kelly Wallace, in Thurmont, Maryland, thanks much.

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