1.   Diplomats said Washington was reluctant to offer any formula in writing because this would mean taking sides.

2.   Diplomats say NATO is clearly at fault, and that officials there are trying to pass the buck.

3.   Diplomats say that immunity should not be used to avoid culpability, but it has had a meaningful place in international law.

4.   Some diplomats say crimes against foreign tourists are probably underreported.

5.   The diplomats said problems along the Southwest border will be among the key issues discussed by Bush and Fox at the summit.

6.   Diplomats say that an agreement may be ready for signing in two years.

7.   Lisbon diplomats said Portugal had asked the United States to try a new initiative to bring the two sides together.

8.   Diplomats said this was an arbitrary date they had chosen.

9.   Diplomats say western countries are worried, however, that they could be clinging too long to a leader whose domestic support is fading.

10.   Allied diplomats said Friday they expected that the new system, if approved, could go into effect as early as next week.