Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres is scheduled to meet with Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze here at the end of September, diplomatic sources disclosed Monday.
The two officials will meet while attending the UN General Assembly which is to open here September 21. Peres is scheduled to arrive in New York on September 28, after Rosh Hashanah.
Diplomats pointed out that Israeli Foreign Ministers have met in previous years with top Soviet officials while attending the General Assembly. Therefore, they noted, the meeting between Peres and Shevardnadze should not be viewed as something unusual or as a breakthrough in the relations between the two countries.
The Soviet Union severed its diplomatic relations with Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War and has not restored them since. According to the sources, Peres and Shevardnadze will discuss Soviet-Israeli relations; an international conference on Mideast peace; and the situation of Soviet Jews.
While in New York, Peres will also meet with dozens of diplomats, including representatives of East European and African countries who do not have at present diplomatic ties with Israel.
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