Israeli circles expect Secretary of State William P. Rogers to present the American views on an interim settlement to reopen the Suez Canal when he addresses the United Nations General Assembly tomorrow. The American position coincides with that of Israel on some points but differs on others, the circles noted. There has been no American comment yet on Foreign Minister Abba Eban’s offer of immediate and direct peace talks with Egypt in his speech to the General Assembly Thursday. (According to sources in Washington, Rogers made brief mention of the concept of Israeli-Egyptian peace talks at his meeting last Wednesday with Egyptian Foreign Minister Mahmoud Riad. The sources said it would be “stretching things” to say that Rogers “urged this on Riad. It was not known whether Rogers had seen an advance text of Eban’s speech at the time of his meeting with Riad nor was it clear whether the Secretary of State mentioned direct negotiations in the context of an interim agreement or an overall settlement.)
Israeli circles say the US believes in the presence of a United Nations peace-keeping force to serve as a buffer between Israeli and Egyptian forces during an interim settlement but agrees with Israel that such force should not include American or Soviet troops. On the other hand, the US does not accept Israel’s demand that reopening
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