No Date Yet for Release of Carter-begin Letters on Settlements Freeze

Presidential News Secretary Jody Powell said today that he did not have a date as yet for letters by President Carter and Israeli Premier Menachem Begin to be released on the differing views between them on the moratorium of Jewish settlements on the West Bank. When a reporter said that Begin, after searching his notes said his recollection was correct that the freeze is for only three months and not a five-year period as Carter seemed to claim, Powell said he did not have an immediate answer.

Israeli sources told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency today that the letters on the West Bank settlements and on the U.S. military airfields in the Negev will not be forthcoming until after the Knesset votes this week on the summit accords. These sources also said that the language for the letters will be negotiated between Israeli and American officials in Jerusalem.

As to Carter’s feelings regarding Secretary of State Cyrus Vance’s Middle East trip, Powell emphasized that the purpose of the five-day mission was to answer the questions by the leaders of Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Syria and to “encourage their understanding and support” for the Camp David accords. “No one expected immediate action by Jordan or Saudi Arabia,” Powell said. He said “our hope” on the talks by American officials with other Arab states is that “they will indeed participate” in Mideast negotiations with Israel.

The State Department announced earlier that Alfred Atherton, the President’s special ambassador for the Mideast who was with Vance and is now in Kuwait, will be going to Amman, Jerusalem, Cairo, unnamed North African cities, Bonn and some other European capitals to seek support for the Camp David agreements. Atherton is scheduled to return to Washington early next month.