Israeli analysts, meanwhile, said the US would likely find it difficult to achieve a breakthrough on security issues given Mr Netanyahu's insistence on retaining an Israeli military presence in the Jordan River valley, an area along the West Bank's border with Jordan that Palestinians see as crucial to their having an independent state.
But there are still plenty of opportunities for the United States and China to coordinate policies to initiate a major breakthrough on global issues, whether it's climate change or counterterrorism.
When asked whether the release of the journalists could lead to a breakthrough on other issues such as North Korea's nuclear program, Gibbs said that will depend on the actions of the communist regime.
But an hour and 40 minutes of discussions here, which Mr. Kerry said were sometimes "spirited," failed to yield a breakthrough on the issue.
The US president, Barack Obama, spoke to his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, by telephone on Friday evening but there was no breakthrough on the issue.
The key to the political breakthrough on the issue appeared to lie in a shift of political calculus by Mr. Robinson, the unionist leader.
A "breakthrough" on this issue marked the visit by Manmohan Singh, India's prime minister, to Washington last July, and was to have provided the icing on the wedding cake when Mr Bush reciprocated the visit.
The deal, which was met with an eruption of cheers and ovations from thousands of delegates gathered from around the world, represents a historic breakthrough on an issue that has foiled decades of international efforts to address climate change.
"President Peña would not subject himself to the horrors of having to present a visa," says his ambassador in Ottawa, Francisco Suárez Dávila.Mr Peña had hoped that a meeting with Mr Harper earlier this year, on the sidelines of the "three amigos" summit with President Barack Obama, would lead to a breakthrough on the issue.
His proposal may be a breakthrough on the issue, as the initial response was positive from Republicans and Democrats on the Board, from top advisers to County Executive Andrew J. Spano and from the League of Women Voters, which has been prodding the Board to act.
