Israeli Ambassador Simcha Dinitz said today that the Geneva conference was “not a place for making peace” and expressed hope that the American initiative for a Middle East settlement will be renewed “in one way or another” despite the suspension of negotiations for a second-stage Israeli-Egyptian agreement in Sinai.
Dinitz, who was interviewed today by Bruce Morton and Hughes Rudd on the CBS-TV’s “Morning News,” said, “We have never said that we are afraid to go to Geneva, although we were always mindful that out of Geneva nothing substantial can come. Geneva is nothing but a mini-UN. It’s a place for declarations, not a place for making peace.” Dinitz made those remarks only hours after Israeli Premier Yitzhak Rabin had told the Knesset in Jerusalem that Israel was prepared to seek peace through any possible means “including through the Geneva conference.”
Dinitz said on the CBS interview, “We still believe that the best prospect for peace is to renew the American initiative in one way or another. We believe that the Americans are the only ones who can push the cause of peace because they are the only ones who really have” the necessary influence “on Israel and Egypt in order to advance toward peace.”
He said that while Israel owes much to the United States “and we value and appreciate very much the efforts of the Secretary of State and the American government.” Egypt also “received tremendously from the United States…in the last seven months, more than they received from the Russians in the seven years that preceded the war. So there is no reason why Egypt too should not help us together to divide the initiatives and we are standing ready at any point to continue our march to peace.”
VIEW OF REASSESSMENT
The Ambassador said he did not know yet “how to interpret” President Ford’s order for a major formal reassessment of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. He said that if the President means a general reassessment, “that is not only legitimate, but is absolutely expected after a setback that was caused by Egypt’s refusal for the negotiations.”
He added, however, “if the meaning of it is that this reassessment is vis-a-vis Israel–which I don’t believe that this is the meaning of it–then, of course, we don’t feel that we should be the one to be singled out for the failure of the negotiations after we have made generous proposals absolutely rejected by Egypt.”
Dinitz said he was “very encouraged by the words of the President yesterday that America will continue to search ways and means to advance the cause of peace.” He also said he did not believe the role of Kissinger has ended, although “may be the shuttle diplomacy is ended for a while, maybe new ways should be found,”
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
