Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger said after an hour-long breakfast meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Yigal Allon here today that “We discussed in general how the peace process in the Middle East can be given a new impetus. I think we agreed that it would be desirable for progress toward peace to be made as rapidly as possible.” Kissinger added, however, “We did not discuss any particular method of doing this today.”
Replying to reporters’ questions, Kissinger characterized the recent Soviet call in the UN General Assembly for an early resumption of the Geneva peace conference as a restatement of a familiar position. He and Allon indicated to newsmen that their talk was “general” and “preliminary,” that they had discussed the situation in the Middle East, including the Lebanese conflict and a number of bilateral issues but that no decisions were reached.
Both diplomats noted that they would meet again in Washington in a few days. A source at the Israeli Mission to the UN told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that that meeting would take place early next week.
BILATERAL ISSUES ALSO DISCUSSED
Allon told reporters he and Kissinger had enjoyed “a good kosher breakfast.” He said he and the Secretary had not seen each other for a long time and their meeting today was a good opportunity to discuss the Middle East situation
One of the latter apparently was the dispute between Israel and the U.S. over oil drilling in the eastern sector of the Gulf of Suez. Asked by reporters if any decision was reached in that controversy, Kissinger replied. “We just had today a preliminary talk about all the issues. We did not intend to settle any of them. We will meet again.” Kissinger added that Allon wants to discuss “matters with his colleagues.”
At noon today, Kissinger hosted a luncheon in honor of the Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Saud Ibn Faisal. Allon, who will address the General Assembly tomorrow afternoon, met today with British Foreign Minister Anthony Crosland for a discussion of bilateral matters, the Middle East situation and Israel’s relations with the European Common Market. He was accompanied by Ephraim Evron, Israel’s Ambassador-designate to Great Britain. Allon met this afternoon with the Rumanian Foreign Minister Jan Macovescu for a discussion of bilateral matters and the situation in the Middle East.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
