West German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher is due to meet with President Carter and top Administration officials for two days of talks beginning tomorrow in what diplomatic sources said is an effort by West Germany to start peace talks between the Arabs and Israel. The sources said West Germany is not seeking to play a major role in the Middle East peacemaking process but is only offering its good offices and contacts.
According to reports today from Bonn, Gemron government officials emphasized that West Germany is not “going it alone” in the Mideast and said its efforts were being coordinated closely with the U.S., Egypt and the nine-member European Economic Community. They said West Germany totally supports U.S. endeavors in the Mideast. Israel has accused West Germany of wooing the Arab states for their oil and neglecting its relationship to the Jewish State. Bonn government spokesman Klaus Boelling has denied this.
While in Washington, Genscher is scheduled to meet with Secretary of State Cyrus Vance, Carter’s National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski, Defense Secretary Harold Brown, Senate Majority Leader Robert Byrd (D. W. Va.), and former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. Beginning Aug. 26, the German Foreign Minister will set out on an eight-day tour of the Mideast that will include visiting Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria. Last month he met with leaders of Saudi Arabia, Libya and Iraq.
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