Defense Minister Ezer Weizman conferred privately with President Anwar Sadat of Egypt at the latter’s rest home here this morning and returned to Cairo for the opening of the joint Israeli-Egyptian military committee meeting. Correspondents were kept at a distance from Sadat’s quarters and when Weizman departed 50 minutes later with Egyptian War Minister Mohammed Gamassy, the only other participant in the talks, reporters were unable to elicit any comment from either of them.
But before Weizman and Sadat began their meeting, the Israeli defense chief was overheard reassuring Sadat about a hard-line speech Premier Menachem Begin made to his Herut constituents Sunday in which he warned Egypt that he might withdraw his peace offer if Egypt refused to recognize Israel’s principles with respect to settlements in northern Sinai.
“He (Begin) has a tendency to get excited,” Weizman was heard saying. “You know, politics in a democracy…and he’s got some troubles.” Weizman was also heard telling the President that he had “regards from Begin” and that Begin was “working too hard but is all right.”
After Weizman and Gamassy drove off, U.S. Ambassador Hermann Eilts went in to see Sadat. He told reporters he had come to Aswan at his own request to discuss “the general situation” with the President. He did not elaborate. He also confirmed that Weizman’s visit was requested by Sadat and that he had acted “as mailman.” Eilts said he thought Secretary of State Cyrus Vance might “possibly” visit Arab countries after attending the Israeli-Egyptian political committee talks opening in Jerusalem Monday.
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.
