Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan returned from Rumania last night saying he was “very pleased” with the “very generous opportunity” he was given there “to explain Israel’s position” on Middle East developments and the current peace process. He noted that Rumanian President Nicolae Ceausescu, with whom he met twice during his three days in Bucharest, will be going to China soon and will be meeting with Arab leaders. “It is therefore to our benefit that he be fully informed about the Israeli position,” Dayan said.
He said there were no substantive results to report from his visit “because I did not go to make a transaction or conclude an agreement.” He said, however, that while Rumania differs strongly with Israel on such basic issues as territorial withdrawals and a Palestinian state, “President Ceausescu supports Israel’s negotiations with President Sadat” and encouraged Israel to continue them.
Dayan said the Rumanians see the negotiations “as a gateway to an Arab-Israeli conference in Geneva with the aim of achieving a comprehensive settlement with all the Arab states under Soviet and American chairmanship.”
The Foreign Minister pointed out that Rumania is “the only Communist country which maintains friendly diplomatic relations with Israel.” With respect to Ceausescu’s trip to China, he said Israel would be very happy to make some contacts with the Chinese but no direct request was made for Ceausescu’s intervention and the Rumanian President made no promises on that score.
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