Secretary of State George Shultz attempted some conciliatory diplomacy between Israel, a sworn Arab enemy of Israel, and the Soviet Union — with mixed results — at the funeral in Stockholm Saturday of Prime Minister Olof Palme of Sweden who was assassinated last week.
Premier Shimon Peres related the events to the Cabinet Sunday, which included a “meeting” with Talib Ibrahimi, the Foreign Minister of Algeria.
Peres said he was greeted by Shultz in the building where world leaders attending the funeral were housed. Shultz invited Peres into his suite where he discovered that the Secretary had a guest — Ibrahimi. He said the Algerian diplomat seemed extremely embarrassed when Shultz introduced them and encouraged them to shake hands. The Algerian Foreign Ministry promptly denied any handshake with the Prime Minister of the “Zionist entity.”
Peres told the Cabinet that Shultz and former West German Chancellor Willy Brandt, chairman of the Socialist International, both tried to arrange a meeting between him and the Russian Premier, Andrei Gromyko, who was also attending the funeral. But the Russians declined, saying there was not enough time for such a meeting, Peres said.
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