An Israeli diplomat reportedly has met here with Soviet officials in connection with the American peace initiative launched by Secretary of State George Shultz when he visited the Middle East last month.
According to unconfirmed reports, Dr. Nimrod Novick, special adviser to Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, held talks with members of the Soviet advance party that will accompany Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze to Geneva Thursday. He and Shultz will sign a treaty there providing for the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan.
Novick briefed high-ranking French officials Wednesday on Peres’ approach to Shultz’s peace plan and his evaluation of the situation. Peres, who heads Israel’s Labor Party, is generally amenable to the American package, but is strongly opposed by Premier Yitzhak Shamir of the Likud.
Novick, accompanied by the Israeli ambassador to France, Ovadia Soffer, met separately with President Francois Mitterrand’s adviser, Jacques Attali, and with Boujon de I’Estaing, political adviser to Premier Jacques Chirac.
The Israeli has frequently been sent on delicate diplomatic missions abroad. He has met with Soviet officials on previous occasions. His latest reported meeting with them comes at a time when Moscow has indicated an earnest desire to participate in the Middle East peace process.
A case in point was Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev’s public advice in Moscow last week to the visiting chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Yasir Arafat, that he should recognize Israel and its legitimate needs, which are no less important than those of the Palestinian people.
‘ENTRY TICKET’ TO PEACE TALKS
Officials here say the Soviets believe that with Gorbachev’s conciliatory remarks toward Israel and their agreement to pull out of Afghanistan, they have bought “their entry ticket” into Middle East peace talks. The Israelis had long objected to Soviet participation because Moscow has no diplomatic ties with Israel.
Diplomatic sources here said the Middle East will be high on the agenda of Shultz’s talks with Shevardnadze when they meet in Geneva Thursday and again in Moscow on April 21.
The Soviet foreign minister, who plans to visit four Middle Eastern countries–though not Israel–before the Moscow meeting, is expected to ask Shultz for a detailed briefing on his recent peace mission to the region, the sources said.
Meanwhile, in Israel public opinion is divided over whether the Soviet moves indicate that Moscow supports the American peace initiative or is planning a counter-initiative on its own.
Israelis who favor the Shultz initiative believe Shevardnadze’s trip to the region is a sign the Kremlin wants to participate in it. In that connection they cite Gorbachev’s remarks to Arafat.
But circles here opposed to the American plan believe Shevardnadze will try to undercut Shultz’s initiative with one of his own, based on an international peace conference endowed with more than ceremonial significance.
(Correspondent David Landau in Jerusalem contributed to this report.)
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