President Anwar Sodat of Egypt said today that he was prepared to be flexible on the May 26 target date for completion of the autonomy talks with Israel if some of the issues are resolved by then and a few others remain outstanding. But, he observed on interviews broadcast by the CBS and NBC TV networks, the situation would be very serious if no thing is achieved by May 26.
Sol Linowitz, the U.S. special Ambassador to the Middle East, said yesterday in Washington that the autonomy talks would continue after May 26 “if there’s momentum.” He said Begin and Sodat have agreed to this. He said the problems are difficult but not insoluble.
Sodat appeared on television after two days of intensive talks with President Carter on the autonomy negotiations. Premier Menachem Begin of Israel is due here next week for a similar round of talks with Carter.
(The Israel Cabinet, which held its session yesterday to review the situation in the autonomy talks, empowered Begin, Interior Minister Yosef Burg who is also Israel’s head of the autonomy talks, and Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir to negotiate in adherence to the Camp David accords.) While in Washington, Begin will also meet with the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations at the Washington Shoreham Hotel on April 17, it was announced by Theodore Mann, chairman of the Presidents Conference.
Sodat said today that he was prepared to send an Egyptian delegation to Washington for a three-way meeting with Israeli and U.S. officials and would agree to a summit meeting between himself, Begin and Carter if the lower level talks produced no results. He said he had proposed a three-way meeting at the end of this month but Israel rejected the idea.
Sodat charged that Israel’s settlement policy on the West Bank violated the spirit of the Camp David accords but added that he would not break off the autonomy negotiations if Israel refused to discontinue planting settlements in that territory.
Sodat also taped an interview for Israel television’s Arabic news service. He said, in reply to the reporter’s question, that he had no objection to having Begin address the Egyptian parliament just as he had addressed the Knesset in November, 1977. The issue arose earlier this week when Israeli newspapers reported that Sodat was seeking another invitation to address the Knesset, this time on the Palestinian problem. Israeli sources pointed out that in the 2 1/2 years since Sodat spoke before the Knesset, Begin has been in Egypt but was never invited to address parliament.
Begin, in a taped interview broadcast by ABC TV today, said that Israel will adhere to the letter of the Camp David agreements. He said that when he meets Carter at the White House next week he will bring all of the Camp David accords and related documents and will go over them point-by-point with the President.
Begin said he has not yet received an invitation to address the Egyptian parliament. Asked by a reporter whether he would reciprocate such on invitation by inviting Sodat to address the Knesset a second time, Begin replied that is not what is involved. He said an invitation extended to him would be in reciprocation for the one he extended to Sodat 2 1/2 years ago.
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