The State Department confirmed today that Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger would meet with Israeli Ambassador Simcha Dinitz before he departs for Europe Wednesday. Department spokesman Robert Anderson said Kissinger was looking forward to seeing Dinitz before beginning his four-day trip to Europe which will start with a meeting with Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko in Geneva.
Asked whether the Secretary was surprised or disappointed that the Israeli Cabinet took no final decisions on an interim accord with Egypt at its session yesterday, Anderson said he would not comment because that matter would be a subject of Kissinger’s talks with Dinitz. The Israeli government is seeking further information and clarification of Egypt’s position before making a final decision.
Anderson said that the Egyptian government “will be kept closely and immediately informed on the diplomatic exchanges on the Middle East settlement effort.” He made that statement in response to a question about U.S. Ambassador Hermann Eilts’ meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ismail Fahmy in Cairo last week.
Commenting on Israel’s raid into Lebanon, the State Department said: “The cycle of violence does not contribute to the achievement of peace in the Middle East.” Anderson said, “On many occasions there have been acts of terrorism that lead to counter-violence,” He expressed regret for the loss of lives, Under questioning, Anderson said that he “assumes” that the Israeli raid was “retaliatory,”
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