"Good atmosphere" as Barak, Arafat open Mideast summit

THURMONT, Md. - In the same rustic setting where Israel forged its first peace treaty with an Arab enemy, President Clinton brought together Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in a renewed quest Tuesday for a lasting Mideast peace. ''There is no guarantee of success, but not to try is to guarantee failure,'' Clinton said.

Insisting on compromise, Clinton said peace was a ''two-way street'' and that ''both sides must find a way to resolve competing claims.''

Clinton opened the summit at the Camp David presidential retreat, where in 1978 Israel and Egypt struck a peace deal, by meeting separately with each leader. Arafat first, then Barak.

Afterward, the three leaders walked side-by-side down a winding asphalt path to Laurel Cabin to begin the first three-way meeting of the summit. Clinton put one arm around Barak, the other around Arafat.

Seated at a long table, they conversed for a half-hour, but not alone. Clinton had eight assistants with him, Barak and Arafat, five each.

''It was a good atmosphere; the discussion was serious,'' White House spokesman Joe Lockhart said afterward.

However, he declined to say whether either of the two leaders acknowledged Clinton's spirited appeal for them to compromise on core issues. Nor did Lockhart venture any assessment of whether Clinton had made progress.

There were two bilateral sessions Tuesday evening, the last one between Clinton and Arafat ending shortly after 8 p.m., Lockhart said. All three delegations, about 40 people, dined together at round tables inside Laurel cabin, he said. Lockhart said he would not release details about any after-dinner meetings until Wednesday.

''We pledged to each other we would answer no questions and offer no comments, so I have to set a good example,'' Clinton said.

Asked if that were the only agreement reached so far, Clinton said: ''That would be answering a question.''

The mood appeared jovial as Arafat and Barak playfully sought to give way to the other when entering the cabin. But the scene belied the sharp differences between the two sides.

Barak and Arafat are far apart on all key issues that must be settled to attain a comprehensive accord. Strenuous efforts and dogged shuttling by Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Dennis B. Ross and other U.S. mediators have failed to make a serious dent.

''The two leaders have profound and wrenching questions, and there can be no success without principled compromise,'' Clinton said at the White House before boarding a helicopter to fly to Camp David.

Bringing the two sides to agreement will not be easy. The central issues have defied solution in the seven years since Israel agreed to begin turning over territory to the Palestinians.

They range from Jerusalem, part of which the Palestinians seek but which Barak insists will never be divided, to claims of Arab refugees to homes in Israel from which they say they were ousted at Israel's founding a half-century ago.

Clinton said both Barak and Arafat have demonstrated they are committed to reaching an agreement.

''Both leaders feel the weight of history but both, I believe, recognize this is a moment in history which they can seize,'' Clinton said. ''We have an opportunity to bring about a just and enduring end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. That is the key to lasting peace in the entire Middle East.''

He cautioned, however, that ''it will take patience, creativity and courage'' to resolve the differences, but he said both Arafat and Barak have those qualities.

''I'll do everything I can over the coming days to see that this moment of promise is fulfilled,'' Clinton said. While no deadline has been set, Clinton is scheduled to go to Japan on July 19 for an eight-nation economic summit.

There, an Israeli diplomat said, Clinton intends to appeal for financial help to assist Palestinian refugees and to implement any agreement he might strike with Barak and Arafat.

The Palestinians' designated spokeswoman, Hanan Ashrawi, continued to fire off strong criticism of Barak despite his offers to compromise.

''Israel should not come to the negotiations with extremist positions such as not returning to the 1967 boundaries or maintaining sovereignty over Jerusalem or rejecting the return of refugees,'' Ashrawi said at the National Press Club in Washington.

''Being extremely realistic, I don't expect to see a miraculous, substantive breakthrough because the issues are complex. I have read the Israel proposals and the gap is extremely wide. It will take a great deal of effort to find areas of consensus, even convergence,'' she said.

On another front, Israel and the United States appeared to be making headway in a dispute over projected Israeli radar sales to China.

''We are in contact, and I believe we are getting closer to a solution of the problem,'' said Gadi Baltinasky, an Israeli spokesman.

Last week, there were reports that Israel would propose selling the advanced airborne warning system to China through a third country in hopes of reducing U.S. pressure to drop the sale.