Vice President George Bush has accepted an invitation from Israel Premier Shimon Peres to visit Israel this spring. The announcement was made by Peres to reporters after he met for more than a hour with Bush at the White House Tuesday, first privately and then accompanied by American and Israeli officials.
Peres, who arrived in Washington Tuesday morning, was also scheduled to meet with Secretary of State George Shultz and then be the guest at a dinner in his honor at the Vice President’s official residence Tuesday night. He will breakfast with Schultz Wednesday and visit the Pentagon before leaving for New York City.
Bush said he would not be visiting Israel on a trip to the Persian Gulf, announced Tuesday in which he will be going to Saudi Arabia, Bahrein, Oman and North Yemen. But he hopes to make it to Israel in the “next two or three months.”
“For us the earlier the better,” Peres said. “We would like to see the Vice President in our country.”
Peres, in his remarks to reporters, stressed the particularly good relations now between Israel and the U.S. “We don’t have real problems in between our two countries,” he said. “We see eye to eye on most of the issues and we enjoy an outstanding friendship which is very dear to our heart.”
One issue on which Israel support the U.S. was the recent action taken by the U.S. Navy against Libya which Peres called “timely” and “right.” He added: “Like on many occasions in the past, it was the United States that took the lead to protect the freedom of navigation, the freedom of transport and the security of innocent citizens.”
The Premier said that until the recent U.S. action Qaddafi provided a “haven for terrorists and he was sure that nobody would even raise a finger of warning against him. Now he knows that if he spreads terror it may create some problems for his in his own country.”
At the outset of his remarks, Peres said he had thanked Bush for “his role in helping us bring to Israel the Ethiopian Jewish people. It was a moving experience for us.”
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