Carter Says U.S. Will Not Offer Proposal for Israeli-egyptian Peace

Secretary of State Cyrus Vance discussed the forthcoming Mideast summit meeting behind closed doors today with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee after President Carter publicly ruled out any possibility of a U.S. proposal for an Egyptian-Israeli peace and said he hoped that Israel would not establish five new settlements on the West Bank.

The President commented to reporters, “Well, I wish they would not create any more settlements,” when he was asked about the Israeli government’s program. He has strongly and frequently voiced condemnation of Israeli settlements in the area as illegal.

Reporters asked Vance, when he emerged from his meeting with the Senate unit, for his reaction to the settlements. He responded in a tone of relief by referring to today’s Israeli Cabinet decision. He added that the U.S. has communicated with Israel about the settlements in the occupied areas and that the U.S. opposition to them has not changed.

News of the new settlements coming only two weeks before the summit Sept. 5 at Camp David was widely reported in the media as representing a setback for the summit, with attention being given to “Peace Now” movement activities in Israel opposing them. Vance went into the Senate session shortly after announcement in Israel that final action on the settlements would be withheld until after the summit.

PREPARED TO OFFER ASSESSMENT

Meanwhile Carter was on record in an interview published in the U.S. News and World Report that he would provide an “assessment” to Israeli Premier Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat at Camp David if that would present an “acceptable compromise.”

Asked if he would “rule out the possibility of the U.S. actually presenting its own Mideast peace plan for both sides rather than simply serving as a go-between, ” Carter replied: “That question insinuates some imposition on those two leaders of an American proposal. That’s not possible. They would have to voluntarily agree without pressure from us to any proposal before it would be acceptable.

“But if we see, between the positions of Egypt and Israel, some possibility of an acceptable compromise, we would certainly take that assessment to both Prime Minister Begin and President Sadat and say, ‘This is a possibility. Would you accept it?’ To that extent the U.S. would be prepared to act in that role.”

Asked if he had a “workable formula in mind for bridging the gap between Israel and Egypt on the central issue of the occupied territories,” the President replied: “There are several possibilities for that to be done but I would rather not single out any particular one. I think both Prime Minister Begin and President Sadat are familiar with the options that are available. There are no secrets among us. What would ultimately be successful as a proposal no one yet knows.”

CAUTIOUSLY HOPEFUL ABOUT SUMMIT

Carter said he is “cautiously hopeful” about success at the summit and that “we will be full partners in the discussion, although I want to emphasize that the only avenue for a successful conclusion of the agreement” is between Begin and Sadat themselves. “We will offer our good services as a mediator, as one who understands both perspectives.” Carter emphasized, however, that the U.S. will not be “idle bystanders” because “we have a direct national interest in the Mideast itself.”

He disclosed that “exactly the same copy” about his summit proposal was shown to Begin, Sadat, King Hussein of Jordan and President Hafez Assad of Syria “so that there would be no doubt about the fact that we were providing our services in good faith.” Carter said “inherent political risks” are involved in the summit because if it should fail, “then I would be associated personally–as the President of our country–with failure.”

When Vance was asked by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency about the President’s reference to Syria, he said he was surprised. Vance said no communication was made with Syria about the summit but with Jordan and Saudi Arabia, apart from Egypt and Israel, which were the only two governments to receive written statements. He thought the reference to Syria in the interview was a “typographical error.” It was previously reported that the Carter Administration solicited the advice of Saudi Arabia before issuing the summit announcement. Since then, Saudi Arabia has given its blessing to the summit while castigating Israeli “intransigence.”