The Proximity Talks Which May Or May Not Have Started Are Viewed Have Been Good and Productive So Far

Check out this exchange at the State Department Press Briefing with regards to the proximity talks. It's amazing how wishy washy this whole process is:

QUESTION: On Mitchell?

MR. CROWLEY: Yeah.

QUESTION: He met with Netanyahu today. What did they talk about? Are they any closer to – are you any closer to getting what you want out of the Israelis?

MR. CROWLEY: I think let’s go through – we have a sequence of meetings with a variety of officials. It might be more fruitful to get through the weekend, come back, and he’ll report to the Secretary as to what was discussed. But clearly, the benefit of these talks – issues can be discussed, they can be evaluated, and follow-up meetings can further refine what was discussed. So I don’t have a particular readout from George Mitchell today, but we’re going to have multiple meetings on the Israeli side and multiple meetings on the Palestinian side. It’s hard to characterize after one of a series of meetings where we are.

QUESTION: Is it your view that the proximity talks have, in fact, now begun?

MR. CROWLEY: It is our view that George Mitchell is in the region. He is meeting with Israeli and Palestinian officials. I think on the Palestinian side, they have, in consultations in light of the Arab League meeting and decision of last weekend – they want to consult with their own leadership. So at the end of these string of meetings, we’ll be in a position to characterize where we are.

QUESTION: Well – so, in other words, you don’t think that they’d be – this doesn’t – this isn’t any --

MR. CROWLEY: I’m not going to characterize. There are meetings going on. I’m not going to characterize what they mean until we finish the --

QUESTION: Well --

MR. CROWLEY: -- four days.

QUESTION: Just to go back, I mean, you’re saying you can’t characterize the meetings that Mitchell had with Netanyahu, but you did say that they were good and productive. I’m wondering what – on what basis you label them thus.

MR. CROWLEY: George Mitchell left the meeting and said they were good and productive.

QUESTION: But he didn’t give you any details?

MR. CROWLEY: And you know George Mitchell as well as I do. He’s --

QUESTION: Probably not.

MR. CROWLEY: He keeps particulars to himself.