Israel appeared satisfied with President Reagan’s two day of talks with King Fahd of Saudi Arabia because Reagan repeatedly stressed the need for the Arabs to engage in direct negotiations with the Jewish State. But it is concerned about the next step in U.S. Middle East diplomacy, the meeting in Vienna next week between the American and Soviet officials dealing with the region.
Israeli Ambassador Meir Rosenne, during a 75minute meeting with Richard Murphy, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs yesterday, expressed satisfaction with the President’s reaffirmation of the need for direct negotiations, according to Victor Harel, the Israel Embassy spokesman.
But Harel told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that Rosenne also voiced Israel’s concern about the talks Murphy will conduct in Vienna with Vladimir Polykov, head of the Soviet Foreign Ministry’s Near East Division.
NEGATIVE ROLE OF THE USSR IN THE MIDEAST
Rosenne outlined the negative role the Soviet Union has played in the Middle East, including its opposition to the Camp David accords and the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty. He noted that the USSR has refused to have diplomatic relations with Israel and pointed to the current anti-Semitic campaign against Soviet Jews.
Murphy stressed that the meetings in Vienna next Tuesday and Wednesday will be discussions, not negotiations. He also assured Rosenne that the U.S., like Israel, continues to oppose the Soviet Union’s call for an international conference on the Middle East.
This position was stressed today by State Department spokesman Bernard Kalb. He said the meeting in Vienna would be “an exchange of views” between the U.S. and the Soviet Union on “Middle East regional issues. The talks will not constitute negotiations nor are they intended to lead to broader negotiations,” he said.
VIEW OF VIENNA TALKS
Kalb added, “These talks are not a precursor of any agreement nor are we going to seek any agreement in Vienna. They remain within the context of our bilateral relations with the Soviets.”
In accouncing the date of the talks yesterday, Kalb said among the issues expected to be raised are Afghanistan, the Iraq-Iran war, south Lebanon and Arab-Israeli issues. He said, “the discussions are intended to contribute to our mutual understanding of those problems and are part of the ongoing effort to engage the Soviets in a full agenda of issues, including regional questions, human rights, bilateral issues as well as arms control.”
Kalb added that the talks “do not represent any change in the U.S. position regarding issues affecting the region, nor do we expect them to result in changes in the Soviet position.”
REAGAN OPTIMISTIC ABOUT HUSSEIN-ARAFAT ACCORD
Meanwhile, it was still unclear here as to whether the agreements in Amman between King Hussein of Jordan and Palestine Liberation Organization chief Yasir Arafat for a framework for common action would lead to negotiations with Israel. Reagan, leaving the White House yesterday for a brief vacation in California, told reporters that “It seems as if some progress has been made,” adding, “We’re being optimistic about it.”
Later, a senior Administration official in California called the agreement a “milestone” but said it was but “one step on a long road.” State Department officials stressed that there is no sign as yet that Hussein and Arafat had agreed to direct negotiations with Israel on the basis of Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338. They said if this happened, it would be progress.
Jordanian news reports said the agreement accepted UN resolutions calling for the return of land in exchange for peace. But State Department sources said that this in no way was an endorsement of the two key resolutions.
COMMUNIQUE ON REAGAN-FAHD TALKS
Fahd is scheduled to leave Washington tomorrow. The White House issued a communique which said that during his talks with Reagan, the President reiterated his commitment to his September 1, 1982 Middle East peace initiative and said the U.S. “will support those positions in direct negotiations involving the parties most concerned.”
The communique said Fahd expressed his support for the September 1982 Fez plan which he said expressed an Arab consensus. The plan calls for complete Israeli withdrawal from all areas captured in 1967, including East Jerusalem; dismantling all Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza; establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital; and a UN Security Council guarantee for peace among all states in the region.
The communique said that Reagan and Fahd “stressed that a stable peace must provide security for all states in the area and for the exercise of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.”
Meanwhile, Reagan’s next Middle East visitor will be President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt on March 12. While the Middle East peace process will be high on the agenda, it may be overshadowed by economic issues. Egypt has asked the U.S. for $1 billion more in 1986 than the $2.1 billion in economic and military aid it is receiving this year. But the Administration has appropriated for 1986 only a $110 million increase.
In addition, Kalb confirmed today that Egypt has fallen behind by $250-$300 million in repayment of its $4.5 billion military debt to the U.S. He said the U.S. is concerned about this and hopes that the emergency problem can be solved soon.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
