Israeli Foreign Minister Abba Eban said today that “there was no disharmony on a single issue” between Israel and the United States over the Middle East. He made the remark at the State Department this afternoon after emerging from a 70-minute meeting with Secretary of State William P. Rogers and Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Joseph J. Sisco. Eban was accompanied at the meeting by Israeli Ambassador Simcha Dinitz.
Asked if he detected any signs of a shift in U.S. policy away from Israel and toward the Arabs, Eban replied: “None whatever.” He said that both the Israeli and U.S. governments “have the same focus–to move on the negotiating option to seek an?interim agreement to reopen the Suez Canal. It is the hope of the U.S. and Israel that there will be negotiations between the parties to the conflict.”
Asked about Sisco’s assertion in a speech at an Israel Independence Day celebration here Monday night that both Israel and the Arabs had missed opportunities to negotiate, Eban said that was not discussed at today’s meeting.
Earlier today, Eban addressed a luncheon of the Israel Bond Organization and said the Middle East military balance remained unchanged. The Israeli Foreign Minister met with members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee this morning behind closed doors. He is believed to have discussed economic matters and the problem of Soviet Jews. He also met with Secretary of Treasury George Shultz to discuss economic matters.
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