The United States told Soviet officials at the summit meeting in Geneva last week that peace negotiations between Israel and Jordan accompanied by some form of international participation cannot be a substitute for direct negotiations, according to a U.S. official visiting here. Assistant Secretary of State Richard Murphy, in briefing Premier Shimon Peres and Foreign Minister and Likud leader Yitzhak Shamir, also said the Soviet view from the summit was that Israeli-Jordanian-Palestinian negotiations can take place only in the framework of an international conference, such as the Geneva conference.
At a luncheon at the Prime Minister’s residence last Friday, Shamir expressed disappointment that the summit did not deal with the plight of Soviet Jewry. Shamir also informed Murphy that talks with Egypt over Taba–scheduled to be held in Cairo soon–will not resume unless Egypt concludes the investigation into the Ras Burka massacre, and the families of the victims are compensated.
Egypt assured Israel last week that the results of its investigation into the fatal shooting of seven Israeli tourists, four of them children, at Ras Burka in Sinai last September will soon be forthcoming. Egyptian officials also said the killer would be placed on trial.
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