Israel and the Soviet Union have decided to widen the scope of their respective consular delegations and maintain contact on the ministerial level.
Diplomatic sources said these measures amount to a de facto upgrading of relations between Israel and the USSR–perhaps the most significant breakthrough in Soviet-Israeli relations since Moscow severed ties with Jerusalem in 1967.
News of the agreement was announced by Israeli Foreign Minister Moshe Arens and his Soviet counterpart, Eduard Shevardnadze, after the two met for an hour here Sunday.
The announcement was the climax of a weekend of high-level diplomatic contacts for Arens, who arrived here Friday to attend an international conference on the proliferation of chemical weapons.
Arens began the day at a working breakfast with U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz.
He also met with Egyptian Foreign Minister Esmat Abdel Meguid, Foreign Minister Roland Dumas of France, Canadian External Affairs Minister Joe Clark and Hans van den Broek, the Dutch foreign minister.
But the diplomatic highlight was clearly the Arens-Shevardnadze meeting, where they announced among other things that working conditions for the two consular delegations would be improved.
The delegations will be able to conduct political and diplomatic negotiations and for all practical purposes serve as diplomatic missions, sources said.
RETURN OF ISRAELI EMBASSY
The Soviet foreign minister told Israeli correspondents here that this probably means the return of the Israeli Embassy building in Moscow, which has been empty for 21 years. Israel has insisted on having the premises back.
Shevardnadze said the work of the two delegations would henceforth be “better and normal.”
Asked by a reporter if the Israelis could move back to their old embassy, Shevardnadze replied, “Normal conditions include that also. We’ve found common ground on that question.”
The Israeli consular mission has worked out of the Dutch Embassy since its arrival in the Soviet capital last summer. The Soviet consular mission in Israel has been renting private premises near Tel Aviv since June 1987.
Both have been strictly limited in their activities until now.
Arye Levin, head of the Israeli mission in Moscow, had been trying for months without success to initiate talks with Soviet officials above the most junior level.
But the climate seems to have changed. Levin, on home leave this week, disclosed in Jerusalem that he recently discussed political issues with Soviet Foreign Ministry officials.
He told a Hebrew University-sponsored conference on Soviet and Eastern bloc affairs last week that Israel’s aid to the earthquake victims in Soviet Armenia last month had opened the door for him.
In Paris, Shevardnadze expressed his country’s gratitude to Arens for Israel’s help in the aftermath of the Armenian disaster.
MEETINGS WITH SHULTZ
He also praised Israel’s swift, efficient handling of a hijacked Soviet plane that landed at Ben-Gurion Airport on Dec. 2. That incident occurred five days before the Armenian quake.
Shevardnadze said his country wants to see the Middle East peace process move forward. He said that is in the interests of Israel, the Palestinians, the Arab states and world peace.
Arens, at a small news conference of is own, confirmed that the Israeli consular delegation in Moscow will now be able to conduct diplomatic activities.
He said he will remain in regular contact with his Soviet counterpart to enable the two countries to “better understand each other.”
Arens spent 20 minutes Sunday morning in private conversation with Shultz. They were joined later by Israel’s deputy foreign minister, Binyamin Netanyahu; William Brown, the new U.S. ambassador to Israel; and Moshe Arad, Israel’s ambassador to Washington.
Arens used part of the meeting to reassert Israel’s position that the American decision to open a dialogue with the Palestine Liberation Organization has been counterproductive to the peace process.
Arens’ 70-minute meeting with Meguid was described as “cordial and friendly.” The Egyptian foreign minister said the possibility of a summit meeting between President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir was only vaguely touched upon.
NUCLEAR ARMS CAPABILITY RALSED
Arens confirmed that his talk with Meguid dealt with general aspects of the Middle East conflict. He said he might meet again with the Egyptian during his stay in Paris and had agreed to closer contact in the future.
Arens’ message to the European diplomats he met was that Israel is preparing its own peace plan, to be unveiled soon by Shamir. He asked all friendly countries to withhold their individual peace initiatives until they hear Israel’s.
While Arens was occupied with his bilateral meetings, Arab delegates at the chemical weapons conference accused Israel of stockpiling nuclear and chemical weapons.
The sharpest attack came from Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Tarek Aziz of Iraq, who accused Israel of introducing nuclear weapons into the Middle East.
Other Arab diplomats, including Meguid of Egypt, joined in the attack, though in more temperate tones. Meguid suggested that a ban on chemical weapons should be linked to the prohibition of nuclear weapons as well.
Iraq has come under widespread international criticism for its alleged use of chemical weapons against its own Kurdish population during its war with Iran.
(JTA correspondent Hugh Orgel in Tel Aviv contributed to this report.)
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