VOL. XL

No. 44

3 November 1997

The Political Scene

The Israelis dragged their feet for as long as possible about going to the US fortalks with the Palestinians, which are expected to focus on redeployment and settlements,and only agreed to attend after the Americans began to show clear signs of impatience. TheRussians have sent Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov on a tour of the Middle East in anattempt to raise their regional profile. Algeria has completed its political restructuringwith local...