Israeli Foreign Minister Yigal Allon conferred here today with French Foreign Minister Jean Sauvagnargues for nearly two hours reviewing at length Franco-Israeli ties, Israel’s relations with the Common Market, the Arab boycott and the general situation in the Middle East.
The two ministers had a “working lunch” all the Quai d’Orsay, part of their last year’s decision to keep the dialogue open in spite of basic policy differences. Immediately after the meeting. Sauvagnargues left for a three-day visit to Lisbon. He had postponed his trip for several hours to meet Allon. The Israeli Minister is leaving tomorrow morning for Latin America with a stopover in the U.S.
One of the central subjects discussed was Israel’s request to conclude a financial agreement with the EEC. Israel signed an economic and trade pact last July and would like to top it off with a financial one which would provide for EEC investments in Israel. Allon asked France not to place any obstacles in Israel’s path and not to link its request with the negotiations now taking place between the Common Market and a number of Arab states.
Allon protested against the PLO bureau in Paris and also drew Sauvagnargues’ attention to the fact that certain states which have not recognized the PLO–the U.S., Holland and West Germany–have better relations with Israel than France and have greater influence in the Arab world. The two ministers agreed to continue their periodic meetings.
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