President Nixon announced this afternoon that a disengagement agreement has been reached between Israel and Syria to be signed in Geneva Friday. He said the announcement was being made simultaneously in Jerusalem and Damascus. He said the agreement “paves the way for a permanent peace settlement in the entire Middle East area.” Nixon made the announcement in a brief appearance in the White House press room shortly after 1 p.m. It was carried on national television and radio.
The President spoke extemporaneously and did not have a prepared statement. He said that as a result of the accord, “the prospects of reaching an agreement on a permanent basis are now better than they have ever been over the past 25 years” in the Middle East. Nixon said he had sent messages of congratulations to Premier Golda Meir and President Hafez Assad complimenting them for their statesmanship demonstrated by the agreement which was “totally without the prospect of a resolution a month ago.”
Nixon had warm praise for Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger whose 32 days of arduous personal diplomacy in the Middle East finally succeeded. He said that Kissinger “deserves enormous credit for the work that he has done, along with members of his team, in keeping the negotiations going and finally reaching agreement when at many times it seemed that the negotiations would break down.” Nixon pledged that the U.S. would continue its diplomatic initiatives, working with all governments in the area aimed at reaching a permanent settlement.
MRS. MEIR: HOPE THIS IS START OF REAL PEACE
In Jerusalem, Premier Meir, commenting on the accord, said “this is a great evening.” She also expressed hope that it will be a day that will not only bring immediate quiet on the northern border, but also one in which “Israeli mothers, Syrian mothers, young wives on both sides of the border will be able to sleep undisturbed tonight.” She added, “this is what we hope for our people and our neighbors.” Referring to the accord, Mrs. Meir declared: “We hope that this goes well. We hope that this is the beginning of a real peace.”
The Syrian announcement of the disengagement was a replay of Nixon’s announcement broadcast on Damascus radio during one of its regular newscasts. About an hour earlier, regular programs were interrupted for a Joint Syrian-Soviet statement on the departure of Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko from Damascus. It was a general call for an overall Middle East peace agreement in which Syria maintained that the Soviet Union should participate in all stages.
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