101.   The meeting will also discuss a French plan put forward last week that calls for the creation of a Palestinian state as the starting point of a negotiating process.

102.   The negotiating process would be different this time, Cordovez said.

103.   Those close to the negotiating process maintain that diplomats are working behind the scenes to bring the two sides closer together.

104.   U.N. mediator Lakhdar Brahimi telephoned Rabbani overnight, Fawzi said, apparently to win his support for the negotiating process.

105.   U.N. sources said Boutros-Ghali tried to keep council members out of the negotiating process as much as possible.

106.   Western diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Rugova decided to go ahead without the others to move the negotiating process off dead center.

107.   White House spokesman P.J. Crowley said Ben-Ami had reaffirmed during his meeting with Berger a desire to find a path back to the negotiating process.

108.   White House spokesman P.J. Crowley said that during his meeting with Berger, Ben-Ami reaffirmed a desire to see a path back to the negotiating process.

109.   If the Abuja meeting failed the international community could lose confidence in the negotiating process, he added.

110.   Albright, however, has asked top Middle East mediator Dennis Ross not to leave his post, at least until the negotiating process is put back on track.