Nixon, Fahmy Discuss Mideast Situation

President Nixon met with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ismail Fahmy for 40 minutes at the White House today. Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger was also present. The meeting, that came as a surprise, was described by White House press secretary Gerald Warren as “part of the consultations” that take place regularly between the Washington and Cairo governments.

He said the topics discussed covered all developments in the Middle East related to U.S. efforts to find a peaceful settlement, including the continuing daily clashes between Israeli and Syrian forces. Warren, noting that Kissinger and Fahmy had met twice over the weekend, said they both thought it would be “useful” for, the President to enter their discussions. He refused to comment on whether Nixon had warned Egypt against being drawn into the Israeli-Syrian fighting.

The White House suggested, however, that the meeting was not linked to remarks this week by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat indicating a cooling off of Cairo’s relations with Moscow but at the same time warning Israel of Egyptian intervention in its fighting with Syria. Sadat said in a major speech in Cairo today that Egypt in its future foreign relations will take “a position of neutrality” between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. Sadat also indicated that Egypt would seek weapons from several sources, ending its almost total dependence on the USSR for military equipment.

American sources in Cairo said today that the USS Iwo Jima, an amphibious assault ship equipped with a dozen Sea Stallion helicopters, is due at Port Said April 24 to assist in clearing mines from the Suez Canal. (By Joseph Polakoff)