Soviet diplomats in Bucharest have been questioning the Rumanian government on why it invited Premier Golda Meir to visit that country, according to sources here who are in touch with official Rumanian circles. This seems to confirm earlier reports dismissing as baseless the speculation that Rumania was acting for the Soviet Union in seeking to aid a Middle East settlement by conferring with the Israeli leader.
Rumanian diplomats reportedly indicated to Israeli officials their belief that Israel is more flexible politically than Egypt. It is still unclear, however, whether Rumania will ask Israel to be even more flexible or whether it will try to work on what it deems Egypt’s relative intransigence.
Meanwhile, it was reported that Mrs. Meir would ask Rumanian President Nicolae Ceausescu or Premier Ion Georghe Maurer to visit Israel in return.
U.S. REACTION NOT SOUGHT
Reports that Israel sought American reaction before accepting Bucharest’s invitation were called untrue by officials here. The Premier admitted that Israel had not consulted with the US on the Rumanian invitation, explaining: “There was no point in seeking US approval.” Asked about suggestions that Washington has expressed displeasure at the invitation, Mrs. Meir remarked: “We have learned not to rely on newspaper reports.”
Speaking Friday at a meeting of Labor Party members in the professions, she said: “I don’t know whether I shall bring peace back with me in my suitcase from Bucharest. I hope we shall not find ourselves in a position where we would accept something that looked like peace while in fact it was yet another scrap of paper with signatures followed by the need to prepare ourselves for new wars.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
