Premier Yitzhak Rabin returned to Israel tonight and declared that he hopes all the participants in the Middle East dispute have learned their lesson from last March’s shuttle diplomacy and no dramatic diplomatic moves are made before the components of a settlement are reached through diplomatic contacts. Rabin told newsmen after landing at Ben Gurion Airport that 90 percent of the problems should be settled before the actual negotiations so that there will be no unrealized expectations.
Rabin stressed that if Egyptian President Answer Sadat means peace, new is the time to do it,” He said peace will be achieved by each side presenting positions that will lead to a settlement. However, Rabin refused to reply to a question at the crowded airport press conference as to whether he brought back any concrete proposals for a settlement. “I shall bring to the Cabinet what I find necessary,” he snapped. He added that he would provide the Cabinet with suggestions for action, stressing that this would not require any new decisions.
Rabin said Israel’s position was thoroughly explained in Washington. Asked if he persuaded the Americans to accept Israel’s views, he replied, “I would not want to say that all I said was accepted by the Americans, but at the same time not everything that was said by the Americans was accepted by me,” Rabin stopped off in London before returning, where he met with British Foreign Secretary James Callaghan and Anglo-Jewish leaders. (By Yitzhak Shargil)
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