The State Department sought to dampen speculation Tuesday that Secretary of State George Shultz is going to the Middle East because he expects a “breakthrough” in the stalled peace process. “I really don’t think it’s correct to assume that there is something new or that there is about to be a breakthrough in any way,” State Department deputy spokesperson Phyllis Oakley said.
“We’ve said in the past that we’ve made progress in narrowing differences among key regional actors on how to proceed. Much remains to be done and we’re resolved to continue our work.”
The surprise announcement that Shultz will visit Israel, Jordan and Egypt on his way to Moscow Oct. 22 was made Monday by Department spokesman Charles Redman at the United Nations in New York where Shultz is participating in the General Assembly meeting.
Oakley repeated Redman’s reasons for the visit which were that Mideast leaders have urged him to go to the region and that he has not been in the Mideast since early 1985. However, he has not been in the three countries involved since 1983 when he spent two weeks negotiating an agreement between Israel and Lebanon, which was later abrogated by Lebanon.
KEY TOPIC ON THE AGENDA
“The peace process will, of course, be a key topic on his agenda,” Oakley said. “As we’ve said many times, we remain committed to work with our friends in the region to promote progress toward peace.”
Shultz is expected to once again try to end the differences in Israel over the international conference demanded by King Hussein of Jordan. Foreign Minister Shimon Peres is pressing for the conference over the vehement objections of Premier Yitzhak Shamir.
The United States “position on the international conference has not changed,” Oakley said. “We’ve made clear our view that the only practical path to a comprehensive peace lies in direct negotiations. We’ve also made known our willingness to explore all avenues that might lead to face-to-face negotiations.”
While the State Department has not yet given Shultz’s itinerary for his Mideast trip, it has announced that the Secretary will receive honorary degrees from Tel Aviv University and the Weizmann Institute of Science on Oct. 18.
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.
