US President Bill Clinton speaking after a one hour long meeting with Israeli PM Ehud Barak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, said: "I feel that we have revitalised the peace process and got final status talks to a very good start."

Final status issues include thorny issues like borders of the Palestinian state, the status of Jerusalem which both sides claim as their capital, the right of return of Palestinian refugees and the future of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Barak who came out of the meeting with a large smile on his face told an aide that he was "exceptionally pleased with the meeting."

Danny Yatom, Barak's top security adviser said that it was a very productive meeting and everyone agreed to try to work hard inorder to meet the tight deadlines set by the Israelis and Palestinians for a framework agreement on the most contentious issues in the peace process.

"The meeting went excellently, the atmosphere was very good and the participants agreed to move forward with a positive approach," he added.