Israeli Foreign Minister Abba Eban said today that Israel has no intention of yielding to American pressure on all aspects of the forthcoming Middle East negotiations. In an exclusive interview with the Europe Number One Radio Station here, Eban said Israel would not systematically refuse all U.S. suggestions, but that on the other hand, “we will not accept all American proposals.”
Eban conceded, however, that Israel had yielded to American pressure to resupply the Egyptian Third Army trapped in the Sinal. American pressure in this regard, he said, had been “decisive.” He rejected the idea that the cease-fire had been imposed on Israel. Eban said the Israeli government had accepted it because the accord concluded between the U.S. and Russia, had been accompanied by certain “assurances” given personally by President Nixon to Israeli Premier Golda Meir.
He said the government had accepted with unanimity and “in an optimistic atmosphere. We accepted because it will make possible a peace through negotiations.” Eban then defined Israel’s view of “negotiations” by noting, “for us, it means that Israel will be completely free in proposing projects and ideas, without being subject to preconditions or limitations imposed on us by our allies.”
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