Ambassador Walter Eytan of Israel was scheduled to meet with French Foreign Minister Maurice Schumann today. It was reported that the two diplomats would discuss the possibility, raised by President Georges Pompidou last month, that France might partially rescind the total embargo on military equipment and spare parts, imposed by former President Charles De Gaulle last Jan. 19 after Israel’s retaliatory raid on Beirut Airport.
There have been contacts in recent weeks between the Israel Embassy here and the French Foreign Ministry. The Israelis are trying to find out to what extent the French are prepared to lift the embargo. Before Jan. 19 it had applied only to the 50 Mirage V jets that Israel has bought and paid for but which were withheld after the June, 1967 Six-Day War. It was understood that French officials have not turned down Israel’s request for a relaxation of the embargo and have promised to give it sympathetic consideration.
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