Clinton Calls Israel’s Moves to Ease Tension ‘Useful’

Source: New York Times

MOSCOW — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Friday that proposals offered by the Israeli government to settle a diplomatic dispute with the United States were “useful and productive,” though it was not clear how close Israel had come to meeting American demands.

Neither side has characterized the steps that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu outlined in a call to Mrs. Clinton on Thursday night, a week after she called him with a rebuke and specific requests. But Mrs. Clinton’s comments on Friday signaled that the United States was eager to get past the dispute, which erupted after Israel announced a housing plan for Jews in East Jerusalem during a visit by Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.

Mrs. Clinton, at an international meeting on the Middle East in Moscow, said the United States was intent on starting indirect talks between the Israelis and Palestinians, and was sending the administration’s special envoy to the region, George J. Mitchell, to meet with Mr. Netanyahu about the housing dispute.

In a grueling 36 hours of diplomacy devoted to two of America’s most delicate relationships, Mrs. Clinton found herself trying to reinforce a new start with an old adversary, Russia, while bridging a rift with an old friend, Israel.



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/20/world/middleeast/20diplo.html?src=me