France today deplored the sudden breakup last night of the Arab summit meeting in Fez, Morocco, and stressed that it still believed the eight-point Saudi plan was “a good basis” for future peace negotiations in the Middle East.
A Quai D’Orsay spokesman added, however, that “France does not accept all the points in the Saudi plan but remains convinced that the project can serve as a useful start for future talks.” Foreign Minister Claude Cheysson, who is to go to Israel Dec. 7 for a two-day official visit, will reportedly make this view known but “will not stress it” because of Israeli objections.
The French had been hoping, against all odds, that the Fez summit would endorse the Saudi plan which most West European countries view as “a positive step” towards a global solution in the Middle East.
Morocco’s King Hassan abruptly declared the Arab summit closed last night only hours after it opened, in the face of deep splits between the participating states. After the meeting broke up, the head of the Saudi delegation, Prince Fahd, said his government will continue to back their proposed peace plan.
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