Franz-Joseph Strauss, the opposition candidate for Chancellor, has strongly defended the Camp David peace process in the Middle East and accused the heads of state of the nine European Economic Community (EEC) countries, including West Germany, of harming the chances of peace in the region.
Strauss, leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), spoke to foreign journalists during a campaign trip to Kassel over the weekend. He was sharply critical of the Middle East peace initiative launched by the EEC at its summit conference in Venice last June.
“Europe can only contribute to peace by supporting the American diplomatic efforts and not by launching a separate initiative. Playing the loud-mouth does not encourage moderate elements but rather helps extremists,” Strauss said.
He urged the European countries to show more patience and understanding toward the current peace moves which, he said, will “ultimately bring a solution under one or another interpretation of the Camp David accords.” He expressed reservations, however, over any settlement activity by Israel that was not absolutely essential to its security needs. He also appeared to be critical of the low passed by the Knesset declaring united Jerusalem Israel’s capital.
The pro-Arab Middle East policies of Bonn’s Social Democratic regime has not been a major issue in the election campaign to date. But differences of opinion on how to resolve the Arab-Israeli dispute have surfaced from time to time.
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