President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt expressed concern to President Francois Mitterrand here today over America’s apparent inability to influence the Israelis. Egyptian officials accompanying Mubarak indicated, however, that Egypt is still pursuing a strong pro-American line while improving relations with the Soviet Union.
Mubarak is scheduled to leave for New York tomorrow for the 38th UN General Assembly and will meet with President Reagan at the White House this Friday, Egyptian sources said.
The sources said Egypt’s relations with the U.S. remain strong and that the two countries have further expanded their economic and military cooperation. But Mubarak wants to improve his ties with the Soviet Union and steer Egypt on a more non-aligned course, they said. Cairo’s relations with Moscow have improved dramatically since the late President Anwar Sadat expelled the Soviet Ambassador, Nicolas Polyakov, from Egypt in September, 1981. In recent months a number of Soviet technical experts have visited Egypt and the chief of the Middle East bureau at the Foreign Ministry in Moscow, Oleg Grivensky, visited Egypt last week for a series of meetings with senior aides to Mubarak.
The Egyptian President is considered by the French to be a “privileged ally” in the Middle East. He was welcomed at Orly Airport today by a company of the Republican Guard, an honor reserved for the most prestigious guests on official visits. Justice Minister Robert Badinter — who is Jewish –welcomed him on behalf of President Mitterrand.
Mitterrand himself will leave for New York tomorrow to attend the General Assembly and to meet with President Reagan.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
