Carter Says He Can Detect No Differences Between Begin and Sadat on Vital Peace Issues

President Carter says that Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Premier Menachem Begin have “no differences” regarding “withdrawal of Israeli forces” from the West Bank with “minor adjustments” of the Israeli border and “resolution of the Palestinian problem” without a Palestinian state coming into existence.

Carter also said in an interview with six reporters who accompanied him on his nine-day trip to the Middle East and Europe that “there is a fairly good agreement between Begin and Sadat on matters concerning the definition of peace” and that “as for us I know there are no differences that separate us from Sadat.” The President expressed himself in response to the reporters’ questions en route aboard his plane from Brussels to Washington where he arrived Friday night and called Sadat “one of the bravest men on earth.”

Speaking of having made “some progress” in the Middle East where he had met Sadat, Jordan’s King Hussein, King Khalid of Saudi Arabia and the Shah of Iran, and spoke by telephone with Begin, the President said “we reemphasized the same basic principles that we proposed six or eight months ago to Arab and Israeli leaders.” A transcript of the Carter interview was made available to reporters at the White House.

BASIC PRINCIPLES DEFINED

The principles to which Carter referred were complete peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors, Israel’s withdrawal to its 1967 borders with “minor changes” and settlement of the Palestinian Arab issue.

Discussing there three “principles,” in the interview on the basis of his Aswan meeting last Wednesday, the President said “one aspect” was that Sadat admitted he was “completely wrong” when Sadat said in the Carter-Sadat April meeting in Washington that complete peace between Egypt and Israel would never happen in his lifetime. Sadat’s visit to Jerusalem and Begin’s to Egypt proved that he was wrong, Sadat said, according to Carter.

“The withdrawal of Israeli forces from the West Bank, with minor exceptions and a western boundary is a principle we espoused back in February or March publicly,” the President continued. “I think this is still an acceptable approach to the Arabs, although publicly I won’t expect them to espouse it now because it violates, in effect, the statements in Rabat” where the Arabs established the Palestine Liberation Organization in 1974 as the representative of all Palestinian Arabs. “They are able and, obviously, willing to speak for themselves but this is something we have been very clear on.”

RESOLUTION OF PALESTINIAN PROBLEM

On the other question, “the resolution of the Palestinian problem, I think can be resolved with an interim solution for a joint solution,” the President added. “I don’t want to be definitive about it but possibilities including Israel, Jordan, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, Palestinians, perhaps the United Nations, for periods of time, specifically outlined ahead of time, and then the right of the Palestinians to decide their own future between whether they should continue that kind of administration or affiliate with Jordan–those are the kinds of principles that we have described very clearly and in writing, beginning eight months ago.

“So the details are going to be a problem but on those expressions of principle, I don’t know of any differences separating Begin and Sadat,” Carter said.

“Do you call that self-determination?” a reporter asked with reference to the Palestinian Arabs. “I have never thought and do not think that it is advisable for us for the Middle Eastern countries or for the world to have an independent Palestinian nation located between Israel and Jordan,” the President replied.

“I think that would be a target of subversion. I think there would be a concentrated influence, perhaps exerted there by some of the more radical other leaders of the world, and I think that Palestinian entity or homeland ought to be tied in at the least in a very strong federation or confederation with Jordan. But now I want to say that is our preference. If Israel and Jordan and the Palestinians and Egypt should work out something different, we would not object.”

Carter said that his own preference is for the Israeli and Egyptians to negotiate on “interim procedure with a final referendum themselves.” However, he added, in this connection, “we will try to find some compromise” between Israel and Egypt on this issue.

“I think if we can evolve an acceptable set of principles, then it would be much easier for King Hussein, and perhaps later on the Syrians, to join in the discussions,” he said. “I did not try to convince Hussein to participate now. I feel and he feels also that Sadat is adequately representing the Arab position.”

The President said that “so all of us feel for now until Sadat specifically requests it, that Hussein should stay out of the direct negotiations. The Shah will be supportive; the Saudis were very encouraging about the future, and Hussein and we agree completely.” Carter said he could not assess “the feeling of Syria” because he had not conferred with President Hafez Assad.