Yigal Allon the Foreign Minister and Deputy Premier of Israel, assured President Ford today that the Israel government shares his view of the importance of moving ahead with further steps in the Middle East negotiations toward a genuine peace settlement. That was reported in a “notice to the press” issued by White House Press Secretary Ronald Nessen after a 75-minute meeting between Allon and Ford in the Oval Office.
The notice also said that “the meeting provided a chance for both sides to review possible ap- proaches in this next stage of negotiations.” In addition, the brief four-paragraph notice said. “As is normal on these occasions, the two sides also reviewed a number of bilateral matters. Both expressed satisfaction at the excellent state of relations between the United States and Israel.”
The notice added that the President and Allon had “a full exchange of views” on the Middle East situation. No details were given. The White House meeting was attended by Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger; Ambassador Kenneth Keating, the U.S. envoy to Israel; and Lt. Gen. Brent Scowcroft, the Middle East specialist on the National Security Council. Allon was accompanied by the Israeli Ambassador to the U.S., Simcha Dinitz. and Mordechai Shelev, Minister at the Israeli Embassy here.
Allon’s meeting with Ford followed a meeting at the State Department between Allon and Kissinger which began at 10 a.m. and continued through lunch and into the afternoon, causing Kissinger to postpone an appearance before the House Foreign Affairs Committee where U.S. aid to Turkey was to be discussed. Allon and Kissinger resumed their talks at the State Department after leaving the White House and were still meeting late this afternoon.
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