Israeli Foreign Minister Yigal Allon and French Foreign Minister Jean Sauvagnargues conferred for several hours today on Middle Eastern matters and bilateral Franco-Israeli relations. They told reporters after their morning session at the Qual d’Orsay that they had touched on several points where their views diverged but held one aim in common–peace in the Middle East.
Allon’s visit, the first official visit by an Israeli Foreign Minister to France, was complicated on its first day by the armed terrorists’ seizure of the Israeli Consulate General in Johannesburg, South Africa, By late afternoon, reports from Johannesburg said the terrorists, who killed two persons and wounded 32 others, were still holding nine hostages in the Consulate.
According to reliable sources here, Allon is considering cutting short his scheduled three-day stay in Paris if the events in South Africa do not end by tomorrow. Allon has cancelled all social engagements here and is attending only official meetings and those events required by diplomatic protocol.
The Israeli Foreign Minister was in constant touch with Jerusalem by phone to keep abreast of developments in Johannesburg. When news of the terrorist attack reached here, security measures were dramatically increased at the hotel where the Foreign Minister, his wife and aides are staying. Additional French and Israeli bodyguards were posted in the hotel lobby and on the floor occupied by Allon and his party.
PALESTINIAN ISSUE DISCUSSED
The Israeli Foreign Minister arrived at Orly Airport from Tel Aviv at 10 a.m. local time. He was greeted by Sauvagnargues with all of the ceremonial pomp reserved for top diplomatic visitors and then drove to Paris in a 16-car motorcade. There were no crowds along the way or at the hotel. Allon and Sauvagnargues went almost immediately into a working session at the French Foreign Ministry where they talked for more than an hour. They resumed their sessions this afternoon.
According to reliable sources, Allon told the French Foreign Minister that Israel was prepared to discuss peace with the Palestinians but “not with adventurers,” an apparent reference to the Palestine Liberation Organization, although he did not mention the PLO by name. Allon also reportedly explained to Sauvagnargues the reasons for the failure of Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger’s mediation efforts in the Middle East last month and placed the blame entirely on Egypt for the collapse of Kissinger’s step-by-step approach.
The two ministers reportedly disagreed over how peace in the Middle East can be achieved. Sauvagnargues mentioned the possibility of international guarantees for Israel but stressed that peace would come only if Israel withdraws from most of the Arab territory it occupies. Allon made it clear that Israeli territories and peace were a single issue that must be discussed together, not separately. He also stressed that Israel could count only on its own strength regardless of any international guarantees.
The Israeli diplomat was reported to have referred to the terrorist attack in Johannesburg as an example of the methods used by the PLO and to have criticized the international community for failing to respond more energetically to previous terrorist attacks.
NO DRAMATIC RESULTS EXPECTED
During his visit here, Allon is scheduled to meet with President Valery Giscard d’Estaing and Prime Minister Jacques Chirac. (Before leaving Ben Gurion Airport for Paris this morning, Allon told reporters that no immediate or dramatic results should be expected from his visit to France. However, the fact that this is the first visit of an Israeli Foreign Minister as the official guest of the French government was regarded as significant in itself.)
Two Paris newspapers, Le Figaro and France Soir, published interviews with Allon today that had been conducted last week at the Foreign Minister’s home in Kibbutz Ginossar. The newspaper, Le Monde, published a front page editorial on Allon’s arrival here suggesting that the time has come for a normalization of Franco-Israeli relations. Israel commands a large capital of sympathy in French public opinion, Le Monde said.
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.
