Israeli Premier Yitzhak Shamir indicated here Monday that Foreign Minister Shimon Peres’ discussions of an international peace conference for the Middle East when he meets Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo, possibly later this week, could cause the disintegration of the Labor-Likud unity government.
Speaking to journalists at a luncheon at the Regency Hotel, Shamir replied “maybe” when asked if Peres’ trip to Cairo could affect the future of the Israel government. Peres can go to Egypt to discuss “whatever he wants to discuss,” but he cannot decide anything with President Mubarak without the approval of the Israel government, Shamir said.
Asked if he had approved Peres’ trip, Shamir said: “I didn’t give any approval but I knew about the trip. He (Peres) doesn’t need any approval from the Prime Minister to go wherever he wants to go. The government has to approve it.”
He said that if Peres’ trip to Cairo yields any results, the Foreign Minister will have to bring them back to Jerusalem as recommendations to the full government.
Sharp differences between Shamir and Peres over an international peace conference have raised speculation in Israel that the issue could bring down the government. (See P.2.) Shamir is adamantly opposed to such a forum.
He stressed to the American media that an international peace conference cannot replace direct negotiations as the means to resolve the Middle East conflict. He made that point strongly at his meetings with President Reagan and Secretary of State George Shultz in Washington last week.
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