Kissinger Outlines U.S. Position on Arab-israel Peace Talks

The possibility of an Arab-Israeli peace conference–in Geneva sometime next month–gained momentum yesterday as Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger outlined the U.S. government’s position on peace talks, the American and Soviet roles and the Arab oil embargo against the U.S. and its allies. He reiterated that the U.S. has no intention of laying down its own proposals for a Middle East settlement, though he outlined certain principles that he thought a settlement should include. “Once the parties put their positions on the table” the U.S. “can try to close the gaps,” he said. Kissinger indicated that the participants, time and place of a peace conference that might end 25 years of hot and cold war between Israel and its Arab neighbors may be disclosed next week. He expressed hope that the conference will start during Dec. He stressed, however, that there is “absolutely no firm assurance but some substantial understanding from the likely participants.” The decisions-on the participants and the site “remain to be determined,” but they are “close to agreement,” he said.

The Secretary of State denied reports of U.S. pressure on Israel for concessions. But he observed that a Middle East peace settlement would have to contain elements of withdrawal, security arrangements and outside guarantees. He also said that the Palestinians and the future status of Jerusalem are issues that would have to figure in a peace conference. “We hope that Israel and the Arab countries” clearly see that “a military solution is impossible,” Kissinger said. But it must not be considered “axiomatic” that the U.S. will pressure Israel. The U.S. “will have full discussions” with both Israel and the Arab countries. What course the U.S. will take “cannot be told ahead of time,” he said, but “obviously,” the “conditions that led to the war will have to be changed.” The peace will not rest on the cease-fire lines of Oct. 6, when Egypt and Syria attacked, Kissinger said.

Kissinger’s remarks indicated that he visualized the U.S. and USSR as the sole outsiders at a Middle East peace conference, a largely symbolic role for the UN and none for the Western European nations. Kissinger said that the “appropriate auspices” for the peace conference “could best be provided by the United States and the Soviet Union. He said that these “auspices” should be “generally blessed” by the United Nations with some participation by Secretary General Kurt Waldheim “to symbolize the UN aegis.” The conference, “to be effective” will have to be left to discussions by the participants, he said. He suggested that the participants could meet in plenary session or could break up into bilateral meetings where Israel would negotiate separately with Egypt, Syria, Jordan and any other states. But “no agreement can last without the willing participation of all the parties in the conference,” Kissinger warned.

Kissinger, who held his press conference fresh from consultations with President Nixon and top Congressional leaders and talks with the heads of major American oil companies, issued a somewhat vague warning to the Arab oil-producing states that the U.S. might consider counter-measures if their boycott continues. But he gave them no deadline to end the ban nor did he hint what the counter-measures might consist of. As Kissinger addressed the press conference, Japan warned Israel that it might sever diplomatic relations unless Israel returns to Its pre-1967 borders; the Organization of African Unity (OAU), meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, demanded a total oil and economic embargo against Israel, South Africa, Portugal and Rhodesia by its 42 member states and “all friendly countries”; and Yugoslavia, which claims to be “neutral” in the Middle East conflict, strengthened economic ties with Libya by reaching an agreement to exchange industrial equipment for oil.