Soviet Communist Party Secretary General Leonid Brezhnev outlined views on a Middle East peace settlement today which seemed to take into consideration both Israeli and Arab interests. His remarks, a week before U.S. Secretary of State Cyrus Vance is due in Moscow, also indicated a desire by the Kremlin to reassert its influence in the Middle East peace-making process which has been dominated by the United States since former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger’s shuttle diplomacy began two years ago.
According to reports reaching here from Moscow, Brezhnev said in a speech to the Soviet Trade Union Congress that a final peace settlement should outlaw the acquisition of territory by war and ensure the rights of all Middle East states to independence and security. He said that appropriate borders between Israel and its neighbors, when “finally established” should be “inviolable.” He proposed an Israeli withdrawal in stages from the occupied Arab territories “in the course of say, several months” and a guarantee to the Palestinians of the right to establish their own state.
While these elements have been contained in previous statements of Soviet policy on the Middle East, Brezhnev also proposed today that the final peace package should include provisions for the free passage of ships of all nations, including Israel, through the Straits of Tiran and Gulf of Aqaba and a study by the Soviet Union, the United States and other countries supplying weapons to the Middle East of ways to end the arms race in that region.
IN APPARENT AGREEMENT WITH CARTER
Brezhnev seemed to be in agreement with recent remarks by President Carter when he said that “In general, the problem of the international arms trade seems to merit an exchange of views. Another new proposal that appeared to correspond broadly with Carter’s thinking, was the establishment of demilitarized zones on both sides of the final Middle East borders, provided that all parties consented.
In his March 9 Washington press conference, Carter included demilitarized zones as one of several possibilities aimed at ensuring Israel’s security beyond its legal borders. Brezhnev said that United Nations forces or observers could be stationed in those zones for a clearly defined period after a settlement was reached.
He also reiterated his proposal of a year ago that the Soviet Union, the U.S., Britain and France serve as guarantors of a Middle East peace settlement or, if the parties preferred, the UN Security Council could be cast in that role. Brezhnev said the state of war between Israel and the Arab countries would end with the completion of Israeli withdrawals and all sides would undertake “to respect each other’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, inviolability and political independence. They would also pledge to resolve disputes by peaceful means, he said.
Although the Soviet Union has called repeatedly for reconvening the Geneva conference, Brezhnev said today that the conference was not an end in itself but the means to move toward a settlement that will be “fruitful and just.” The State Department had no immediate comment on Brezhnev’s views but said it was studying them. Meanwhile, the White House confirmed today that the Arab-Israeli conflict will be on the agenda at the meetings in Moscow between the Kremlin leadership and Vance.
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