Premier Golda Meir arrived at Dulles International Airport here late yesterday afternoon and less than five minutes after her arrival faced a battery of newsmen who bombarded her with questions, mostly relating to the shooting down of the Libyan airliner. She said in reply to questions that she at no time considered postponing her trip to the U.S. because of the tragedy.
Mrs. Meir told some 80 news media representatives who met her in a special section of the airport terminal that if the Israeli fighter pilots had any “inkling” that there had been passengers aboard the airliner it would not have been harmed Asked if she was satisfied that there would not be any repetition of such an incident, the Premier replied, “I am satisfied the standing orders in our army are such–I hope–that something like this can never happen again.”
Speaking calmly and answering all questions put to her, she said she was convinced that the tragedy over the Sinai will not “interfere” with the process of seeking an agreement in the Middle East.
The Israeli Premier was greeted at the airport by Assistant Secretary of State Joseph J. Sisco and Israeli Ambassador Yitzhak Rabin. Security measures were heavy but not unusual for the arrival of foreign dignitaries. Her arrival marked the beginning of a 10-day visit to the U.S. which includes meetings with President Nixon and other top administration officials.
U.S. PREPARED TO PLAY PERFECT ROLE
Asked by newsmen if the departure of Soviet military personnel and advisors from Egypt has changed her thinking on concessions. Premier Meir replied:
“I do not think or speak of concessions. We do not give any to Egypt and they do not give any to us. Compromise, yes. In the process where the parties are interested in a real peace, each party must understand what is essential to the other and what is not essential to itself. We have not had this great experience to sit down with our neighbors and for each to underline what is absolutely essential to each of us. It is not a matter of concessions if each party does not everything but the essential points for its existence. I see in that the best safeguards for the future.”
Referring to the role of the United States in trying to help break the Middle East deadlock, Mrs. Meir said the administration was preparing to play “the perfect role.” She noted that the U.S. is not indifferent to the situation. “It is very interested, very anxious that there should be a step toward peace,” she observed. If the parties involved in the Mideast conflict “would be prepared to begin to talk about peace, the United States would do everything possible to help the parties come to an agreement” but not decide for the parties, Mrs. Meir stated.
The Israeli Premier is scheduled to have a private meeting tomorrow morning at the capital with the 39-member House Foreign Affairs Committee headed by Thomas E. Morgan (D.Pa.). Later in the day she is to meet with State Department and Pentagon officials. On Thursday she meets with President Nixon. Tonight Mrs. Meir will dine with Rabin in his home. It was reported that several members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will be present.
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