Israeli Ambassador Ephraim Evron had a luncheon meeting today with Harold Saunders, Assistant Secretary of State for Near East and South Asian Affairs, apparently to discuss the Israeli Cabinet resolution yesterday rejecting reported U.S. efforts to include the Palestine Liberation Organization in Middle East negotiations. There was no immediate official word about the result of the meeting.
State Department spokesman Tom Reston said that Saunders received a letter from Evron yesterday. He said that Evron discussed the Israeli message with Secretary of State Cyrus Vance by telephone today but there were no plans for the Ambassador to see Vance today.
Reston would not say what the letter contained. “We will be studying it and we will reply in due course,” he said. But in Israel, it was announced that Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan was instructed to transmit the Cabinet resolution privately to the U.S. through Evron. The Ambassador is also scheduled to meet with President Carter for lunch this week.
Reston said that Vice President Walter Mondale’s statement to Israel Television last Friday that the Administration policy toward the PLO “remains unchanged” defines the U.S. position.
Reston also confirmed that the meeting between Vance, Dayan and Egyptian Foreign Minister Boutros Ghali in Washington on the dispute over what type of international force should be placed in Sinai will not be held until early September. He said it had been hoped to hold the meeting in mid-August but the Egyptians have other commitments.
The Israeli Cabinet resolution reportedly also contains continued opposition to the use of the United Nations Truce Supervisory Organization (UNTSO) In place of the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF). Reston said that the U.S. is continuing contacts with Israel, Egypt and the UN of this issue.
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