Peres Sees No Change in U.S. Approach to the Middle East

Shimon Peres, who is acting as Premier, said today that he was con- vinced that there has been no change in the American approach to the Middle East as a mediator of the Israeli-Arab conflict. He said he welcomed the remarks yesterday by Secretary of State Cyrus Vance who stressed at a Washington press conference that a peace settlement must be made by the parties to the conflict, not by the U.S., although the U.S. would present “suggestions on the core issues.”

The mention of “suggestions” raised concern in political circles here and in some sections of the press that the U.S. intends to go beyond the mediator’s role. One newspaper attributed to the Israeli Ambassador in Washington, Simcha Dinitz, the observation that the very mention of “suggestions” contained the seeds of coercion.

(In Washington today, State Department spokesman Frederick Z. Brown re-affirmed Vance’s statements. He said the U.S. will not offer a “blue-print” for a settlement and that “any peace plan must come from the parties” and “must emerge from discussions between the parties and through their agreements.”)

Peres, who said at last Sunday’s Cabinet meeting that the U.S. and Israel were in agreement on the basic issues, stated today he saw no hint in Vance’s words that there was an American peace plan. He said Vance indicated that the U.S. would take a more active role of mediation. According to Peres, the success of American diplomacy in the Middle East so far stemmed from its contribution as a mediator, not by proposing suggestions and he saw no deviation from that approach Peres also fully endorsed Vance’s position that the Geneva conference can be resumed only after the most careful advance preparations.