— Secretary of State Alexander Haig’s four-day visit to Egypt,
Israel, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, starting in Cairo Saturday, is to discuss security cooperation against Soviet penetration in the Middle East and Africa and to receive the views of the “various parties” on the Camp David peace process, a senior State Department official said today.
“These are two separte, mutually reinforcing themes of the Secretary’s visit,” the offical said, emphasizing that “we are not pursuing one at the expenses of the other.” Haig and a large group of aides will leave tomorrow night for Egypt. They will be in Jerusalem Sunday and spend a day each in Amman and Riyadh before going to Madrid and London. Haig will also stop in Bonn and Paris on April II before returning to Washington.
While Haig himself will visit only the four countries on his Middle East Itinerary, members of his party will go to Iraq, with which the U.S. has no diplomatic relations, to Syria, to which the Reagan Administration has cut off economic aid, and to Lebanon. The official said members of the Haig group also probably would visit the West Bank to meet with Arab leaders there.
A PRINCIPAL TOPIC OF DISCUSSION
The stationing of an international peacekeeping force in Sinai that probably will include an American contingent will be a principal topic of discussion during Haig’s visits to Egypt and Israel the official said. Although U.S. efforts are continuing to have the UN Security Council set up such a force, success seems unlikely because such a force would be tantamount to endorsing the Camp David process, which it has avoided.
Therefore, the official indicated, the U.S. will probably create this force with an American contingent likely since it is required that a force be in place in Sinai before Israel’s scheduled with drawl in April, 1982 under the terms of the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty. The official made clear that a “top objective” of Egypt, Israel and the U.S. is to have the force installed in time.
Discussing Saudi Arabia’s request for additional equipment to improve the combat capabilities of the 62 F-15 warplanes it has purchased from the U.S. — strongly opposed by friends of Israel in Congress — the official indicated that the Reagan Administration in not only prepared to provide extra fuel tanks and air-to-air missiles to Saudi Arabia but also to meet the Saudis’ request for 4-7 sophisticated surveillance aircraft– AWACS.
Asked by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency if the Administration would present to Congress for approval an arms package consisting of extra fuel tanks, missiles and AWACS after Haig returns to Washington, the official replied, “could be.”
At his meeting with reporters today, the State Department official said Haig’s visit to the Middle East is “at President Reagan’s request to establish direct personal contacts with the leaders of the four Middle East countries he will visit and to begin a dialogue that “ultimately” will lead to their visits to Washington to meet with the President later this year.
THEMES OF HAIG’S DISCUSSION
Outlining the themes of Haig’s Middle East discussions, the official said the “first” is “security cooperation against the challenges and threats in the area including the Soviets and their surrogates.” This, he said would be “a regional commitment of the Administration on a global scale” to establish itself as a “credible long-range security partner in the eyes of friends and adversaries.”
Asked if the Palestine Liberation Organization is one of the Soviet surrogates, the official replied, “To the extent that those elements in the PLO are funded or armed directly or indirectly by the Soviets, they are obviously included in the definition.”
He said the second theme of Haig’s visit “of course is the peace process” between Israel and her neighbors. In that connection he said, the need is to hear the views of the various parties, an indication that the Camp David formula would be rediscussed with Saudi Arabia and Jordan. The official stressed, in reply to a question, that “we are committed to the Camp David accords” and “we wish to build on the achievements of them. We will make no changes in the Camp David accords without the agreement of both partners,” he said.
With respect to the Sinai peacekeeping force, the official emphasized that it must be “acceptable to both parties,” Egypt and Israel, and that “any U.S. force would be used to implement the peace treaty.” He made it clear that there is “no question” that the only function of the force would be to police the Egyptian-Israeli treaty.
He said a U.S. contingent would make up no more than half the force and that the size of the force itself would not be very large. He mentioned no figures. He declined to say in what form Israel should hand over its military bases in Sinai to Egypt, saying, “We don’t have any position” on that.
By Joseph Polakoff
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.
