Shamir Accuses France of Being More Negative Toward Israel Than Any Other West European Nation

Israeli Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir met with Foreign Minister Claude Cheysson of France for one hour today. Their encounter, at the United Nations Plaza Hotel, was described later as “open and cordial.”

But according to a spokesman for Shamir, the Israeli Foreign Minister accused France of being more negative toward Israel than any other European nation, demanded that it change its policies toward Israel and warned that pursuit of a one-sided Middle East policy would, in the final analysis, only harm French interests. According to the spokesman, Cheysson did not reply directly to the charges.

Cheysson was the first foreign diplomat with whom Shamir met at the start of his three-week visit to New York to attend the current session of the UN General Assembly. Shamir will address the General Assembly tomorrow morning.

His spokesman said the Israeli Foreign Minister spoke openly about Israel’s displeasure with recent French Middle Eastern policy, especially as regards the Lebanese crisis. Shamir told Cheysson, the spokesman said, that any actions taken by France in pursuit of its Middle East policy without consultation with Israel or understanding of Israel’s positions were doomed to failure. He said France’s negative attitude was displayed when it was the only Western European country to vote in the Security Council for sanctions against Israel during the Lebanese war.

While the French diplomat did not respond directly to these and other charges, he said that France would not support radical anti-Israel moves at the UN, such as any attempt to suspend Israel from the world organization, Shamir’s spokesman said.

ELEMENTS IN SHAMIR-CHEYSSON DIALOGUE

According to the spokesman, the massacre in west Beirut two weeks ago was not the main subject of the Shamir-Cheysson dialogue. He said Shamir explained Israel’s position and told Cheysson that in Israel’s view, the situation in Lebanon is now progressing and Beirut is no longer the international terrorist center it was.

Cheysson was reported to have said that France wants all foreign forces to leave Lebanon and to find a solution to the Palestinian problem. He also expressed his country’s positive attitude toward President Reagan’s Middle East plan announced on September 1. Shamir said Israel will leave Lebanon, but first there must be security arrangements in the 40-kilometer zone of Lebanon north of the Israeli border.

Cheysson replied that this was a legitimate concern of Israel and suggested that one way Israel’s security could be assured would be to have a multinational force stationed in the zone. Shamir rejected that idea, saying Israel was not interested in a multinational force and preferred to have an arrangement with the Lebanese army. The two Foreign Ministers also discussed conditions for a stable Lebanon under the government of President Amin Gemayel.

According to his spokesman, Shamir questioned Cheysson about a Franco-Egyptian plan announced during the Lebanese war for mutual recognition between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization. Cheysson said France would not press that plan for the time being but would not rule out the possibility of doing so in the future. Shamir expressed a desire for improved bilateral relations with France despite the disagreements between Jerusalem and Paris.

Before leaving for New York yesterday, Shamir told reporters at Ben Gurion Airport that the main purpose of his trip was to mobilize all friends of Israel “against the ugly campaign of lies directed against the state and the people of Israel in relation with the horrible crime in the Palestinian camps in Beirut.”