Rabin ready to compromise

WASHINGTON (Reuter) - The Israeli Prime Minister, Yitzhak Rabin, said after a three-hour meeting with President Bill Clinton that he was ready to make compromises in peace talks with Arabs.

At a joint news conference after the talks, Mr Rabin said: 'We are willing to take risks for peace, but we are determined to protect our security. We are willing to compromise but compromise cannot be one-sided.' But Mr Rabin and Mr Clinton failed to offer compromises on the key issue of 415 Palestinians deported by Israel last 17 December which led to the suspension of Arab-Israeli peace talks. Mr Clinton said the issue had not even come up in discussions.

The United States and Russia last week invited Arabs and Israelis to resume peace talks in Washington on 20 April. But the Palestinians would not accept the invitation and other Arabs have not responded. Mr Clinton urged the Palestinians to attend the talks.