The time for shuttle or indirect diplomacy has passed and the only way to achieve peace in the Middle East is through direct negotiations, Samuel Lewis, the departing United States Ambassador to Israel, stressed here this week.
Lewis, who received an honorary doctorate from Hebrew University yesterday, spoke at a luncheon which was part of the university’s celebration of its 60th anniversary.
He said the Reagan Administration was totally committed to seeking direct negotiations between Israel and its Arab neighbors. He stressed that despite alarmist reports in the Israeli press, there has been and continues to be the fullest consultations between the U.S. and Israeli governments on the efforts to reach a full and permanent peace in the Mideast.
Lewis will be succeeded as Ambassdor to Israel by Thomas Pickering, former Ambassador to El Salvador. The 53-year-old career diplomat was Ambassador to Jordan from 1974 to 1978.
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