The State Department announced today that the Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Omar Saqaaf, will arrive here late tomorrow to begin discussions with Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger on the next steps toward a Middle East peace. Saqaaf will attend a working luncheon Thursday at the State Department. Kissinger will host a dinner for him Thursday night and will meet with him again Friday morning, the State Department said.
Department spokesman Robert Anderson said it was not certain whether Saqaaf will see President Ford while he is here. Anderson also said that the date of Israeli Premier Yitzhak Rabin’s visit to Washington, due during the first half of Sept., has not yet been fixed. It was understood, however, that Rabin will be here Sept. 10 or 12 and will meet with Ford.
It is understood that no top Saudian petroleum officials are accompanying Saqaaf to Washington, an indication that the level of oil flow from the Saudi Arabian wells and oil prices will not be a major topic in his talks here. But observers believe the potential of a renewed oil embargo at some future time as a lever on Middle East negotiations may arise since Saudi Arabia holds the key to much of the Arab oil exports. Saqaaf is believed to have discussed the embargo at a meeting with former President Nixon on his first visit to Washington.
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.
