Fairbanks Going to Mideast As Haig’s Special Representative for the Autonomy Negotiations

Richard Fairbanks will be going to the Middle East this week for the first time as Secretary of State Alexander Haig’s special representative for the autonomy talks, the State Department has announced.

The appointment, which was revealed when Haig introduced Fairbanks to Israeli and Egypt- ian officials during his trip to the Middle East last month, was officially announced last Friday by Department spokesman Dean Fischer. He said that Haig has designated Fairbanks as his special advisor to “undertake special projects.” President Reagan has given Fairbanks the rank of Ambassador.

The first of these special projects, Fischer said, “will be to represent the Secretary and assist him by devoting full attention to the ongoing negotiations for Palestinian autonomy in the West Bank and Gaza.”

Fairbanks, a Washington lawyer, who was Assistant Secretary of State for Congressional Relations for most of last year, has no experience in the Middle East. His position, reporting directly to Haig, is different than was that of his predecessor in the Carter Administration, Sol Linowitz, who was the President’s special representative to the autonomy talks.

However, most observers see in this appointment a demonstration that Haig plans to personally participate in the autonomy talks. Since Haig cannot devote full attention to the talks, and participate in the negotiations in the Mideast in the style of former Secretary Henry Kissinger during 1975, he will have a representative who is able to go to the area and deal with day-to-day negotiations while reporting directly back to him.