Haig Claims His Talks with Arab Israeli Leaders Had Strengthened U.S. Ties in the Middle East

— The State Department refused to give any assessment today of Secretary of State Alexander Haig’s trip to the Middle East, even though Haig was reported from Rome as saying that his talks with the leaders of Egypt, Israel, Jordan and Saudi Arabia had strengthened U.S. ties in the region.

State Department spokesman William Dyess said any assessment will have to “wait until the Secretary’s return” to Washington, expected Sunday night. He said there would probably be a press conference at the State Department next week.

Haig ended his Middle East junket in Saudi Arabia yesterday after apparently promising the Saudis that they will receive the five advanced aerial intelligence systems–AWACS aircraft they have requested from the U.S. At the same time, correspondents travelling with Haig reported that the Secretary had stressed to the Saudis that the U.S. would ensure Israel’s qualitative edge over the Arab states militarily.

OPENING GAMBIT FOR SALE OF AWACS

This was seen as an opening gambit in what is expected to be a strong drive by the Reagan Administration starting next week to persuade Congress to support the sale of the AWACS to Saudi Arabia in addition to extra fuel tanks and air-to-air Sidewinder missiles for the 62F-15 jet fighters the Saudis have purchased from the U.S.

Opposition is growing in Congress to the sales, particularly of the AWACS, because of fear stemming from the Iranian revolution that a similar upheaval could occur in Saudi Arabia and highly sophisticated American weapons could fall into unfriendly hands.

According to reports from correspondents in Haig’s party, the U.S. has agreed to keep the four AWACS that were sent to Saudi Arabia last September, as a result of the Iraqi-Iranian war, along with their American crews and personnel numbering some 400 in Saudi Arabia until their own AWACS are delivered late in 1985. The Saudis reportedly want a lease arrangement by which they would contribute more to the maintenance of the four AWACS to ensure that the U.S. does not remove them from their desert bases should a crisis break out in any other part of the world.

Israel is strongly opposed to the sale of AWACS to Saudi Arabia because it fears they would deprive the Israel Air Force of the element of surprise in any conflict with the Arab states. The opposition in Congress centers on the lack of support by Saudi Arabid for the Camp David peace process.

Haig said throughout his Middle East trip that he has convinced the countries of the regior that the common threat to the area comes from the Soviet Union. But the leaders of Jordan and Saudi Arabia insisted in their talks with Haig that Israel is the chief contributor to instability in the region.

Haig arrived in London tonight for talks with Foreign Secretary Lord Carrington and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher which will include the Middle East situation. British leaders reportedly will try to convince him that the Camp David process has run its course and that new initiatives are now required.

VISITING OTHER MIDEAST COUNTRIES

Meanwhile, several U.S. officials split off from Haig’s party to visit other Middle East countries that were not on the Secretary’s agenda to report on his trip. One of those countries, Syria, reportedly refused to receive Haig’s emissary, but the report was not immediately confirmed by the State Department.

Iraq, another country on the list to be visited by a member of Haig’s party also has no diplomatic relations with the U.S. But the visit there was preceded by the announcement by the State Department last week that the U.S. has approved the Boeing aircraft company’s request to sell three 727 and two 747 commercial jets to the Iraqis for civilian use.

SALE OF COMMERCIAL JETS TO IRAQ IN THE OFFING

The sale, too, must be approved by Congress because Iraq is on the American list of six nations that support terrorists. But Dyess, who made the announcement last week, stressed that Iraq has become a signatory to the anti-hijack treaty and refuses to allow aerial hijackers to enter its airspace or land on its territory.

Dyess said that Iraq already has II Boeing jets which are employed by Iraqi Airways and that there was no reason to believe that the five additional planes now to be sold would be used for any but civilian purposes.

He stressed that the $185.6 million deal is an “important commercial transaction” and is needed to improve the U.S. competitive position in the Middle East. Dyess noted in that connection that most commerical aviation sales to that region last year were of the European mode Airbus.