— Premier Menachem Begin urged the United States today to “take the initiative” to resume the stalled autonomy talks between Israel and Egypt but observed that if Washington and Cairo were not in a hurry, there was nothing Israel could do. He said he expected Secretary of State Alexander Haig to visit the Middle East this spring but had no plans for himself to visit Washington. “I shan’t invite myself,” he said.
Begin spoke in response to questions at a Foreign Press Association luncheon here. He dealt with a wide range of subjects but stressed Israels difference with the Reagan Administration’s view that the Arab-Israel issue is not a top priority matter.
“The Mideast and its periphery is an area of supreme strategic importance” and “it should be the highest interest of the free world…not to be taken by surprise,” Begin said. “But if somebody wants to wait, if anybody thinks they’ve got time to solve the Israel-Arab conflict, what can Israel do?”
He insisted that the U.S. must implement its commitment to create a multi-national peace-keeping force for Sinai. It is an “integral part of the (Egyptian-Israeli) peace treaty…It should be carried out of course before we withdraw to the international border,” Begin said, referring to Israel’s final withdrawal from Sinai due in April, 1982.
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