talks in 1991 and 1992, The Royal Gazette has learned.

Premier the Hon. Sir John Swan and former US Consul General Mr. Ebersole Gaines teamed up to sell top American officials on using neutral and secure Bermuda for the second round of the historic talks.

But their three-month effort in late 1991 fizzled out.

All sources contacted declined to comment on why the Americans dropped the Bermuda option, but it is believed to stem from the Island's status as a United Kingdom dependent territory.

The talks, which were eventually held in Washington DC, could have could have resulted in the Island hosting thousands of diplomats and supports staff during the depths of the recession.

It is believed their numbers could have filled more than one major hotel, possibly for months.

In addition, the talks were seen as a launching pad for tapping a new business potential that would have positioned Bermuda as the ideal setting for resolution of international disputes.

Sir John yesterday refused to comment on any aspect of his involvement in the issue.

But Mr. Gaines, in an interview with The Royal Gazette before leaving the Island last week, said the two men went after the talks "just like a couple of salesmen going after an account''.

"We were hot after it,'' he said.

It is understood their effort, and that of other Government officials, involved communications with White House contacts and other highly placed sources in the Republican Administration.

President George Bush was not contacted directly on the matter. The sales pitch did not involve negotiations but rather letting US officials know about the Bermuda option and being available with any answers and information needed.

It is understood the idea to host the talks grew from communications between friends of Sir John and Mr. Gaines in the Bush Administration.

President Bush's two Bermuda summit meetings, with British Prime Minister Thatcher in April, 1990 and with Prime Minister Major in 1991, may have helped spawn the idea to use the Island as a venue for the Mid-East talks.

The Bermuda sales pitch emphasised the Island's neutrality, its proximity to the United States, the strong US diplomatic and military presence on the Island for what was US-Russian sponsored talks and the relative ease in securing the site from terrorist actions.

In addition, Bermuda was portrayed as having the physical wherewithal to host the talks with its telecommunications, conference and hotel capacities.

The US-British summits of the 1990 and 1991 were seen as vital training grounds for local security forces, and proved their ability to work with the US Secret Service.

One person involved with the talks said the US was actively looking for an appropriate venue to bring together the participants which included Israel, Syria, Lebanon and a joint Palestinian-Jordanian delegation.

They gathered in Madrid in October, 1991 for a ceremonial start to the peace talks. But they got down to negotiations in Washington in December, 1991. It was those talks -- the Second Round -- that Bermuda was aiming for.

One source close to the talks said the Bermuda venue was good for the Israelis because it provided just enough distance from the US to avoid the appearance the US "running the show''.

Why Bermuda's efforts collapsed remains unclear.

One source close to the effort held his index finger and thumb nearly together and said: "I don't know what went wrong. We were that close.'' Mr. Gaines said: "We thought we could get it until something happened and it didn't. It just all stopped.'' One informed source said the Bermuda effort may have come to ground in the UK embassy in Washington.