Israel’s Defense Minister Moshe Arens warned Syria today that if it wages a war of attrition in Lebanon “Israel will not reply in kind but will choose the time and the most appropriate manner in which to respond.”
Arens, who came here as the guest of French Defense Minister Charles Hernu to attend the Paris Air Show at Le Bourget, indicated however that Israel would wait only a matter of weeks before it takes its next step if Syria continues to reject the Israel-Lebanon agreement and refuses to pull its forces out of Lebanon, “No useful purpose can be served by giving time ultimatums” but “it is a question of weeks, ” Arens said in reply to questions from reporters.
He also made it clear that before taking any steps in Lebanon, Israel would call for urgent consultations with the United States and Lebanon, as provided in the Israel-Lebanon agreement signed May 17. The “agreement is a valid document and we want Syria to comply and start withdrawing its forces,” Arens said.
According to Arens, Israel does not consider a new war in Lebanon “inevitable” and “will do its best to avoid a confrontation with Syria.” But should war break out, “The Israeli army is ready for any eventuality,” he said. He maintained that neither Syria nor the Palestinians, who are returning to Lebanon in violation of the cease-fire agreement, can sabotage the Israel-Lebanon agreement. “What they can do is make its application more difficult,” he said.
FRANCO-ISRAELI ARMS DISCUSSED
Arens conferred with Hernu for nearly an hour today. He said later he had discussed the possibility of Franco-Israeli arms cooperation and “both sides are in favor.” He explained that they had discussed the possibility of technological cooperation between their respective defense establishments but not arms purchases. According to other Israeli officials here, the subject may come up in concrete form at the Franco-Israeli mixed commission which is scheduled to meet in Jerusalem June 13.
Arens said France and Israel “agree on a number of subjects,” including the positive value of the Israel-Lebanon agreement and the need for cooperation. He said Hernu welcomed the agreement as a “positive step, ” the first time any French government official has expressed approval of the accord.
Israel and France enjoyed a long period of close cooperation, during which France was Israel’s chief supplier of military aircraft and other weapons. But relations soured when President Charles DeGaulle clamped an arms embargo on Israel in 1967 at the time of the Six-Day War and remained chilly ever since. Arens said today that he hoped Franco-Israeli relations will become better in time, “even better than they had ever been” in the past.
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