Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir arrived here on a three-day visit aimed at trying to convince the European Community to give Israel’s latest peace plan a chance to succeed.
He hopes to persuade the 12 nations of the community, especially France, to refrain from undertaking any new initiatives in the Middle East. But if his first day was any indication, it will be an uphill struggle.
Shamir received an especially warm welcome from President Francois Mitterrand, who was solicitous of the Israeli leader and went out of his way to demonstrate his friendship for Israel.
But after a 45-minute working session with Shamir and a 90-minute business lunch, the French president remained skeptical that Israel’s plan for a dialogue with the Palestinians would materialize, unless the Palestine Liberation Organization is given a participatory role — which Israel absolutely refuses to allow.
Mitterrand also showed no signs of abandoning his own ideas for European intervention, which Shamir had hoped to sidetrack.
France currently holds the rotating chairmanship of the E.C. Council of Ministers. Before turning it over to Ireland on Jan. 1, Mitterrand plans to convene a meeting here between the E.C. foreign ministers and the foreign ministers of the 22 Arab League nations, plus the PLO.
Mitterrand showed great interest in Shamir’s recent meetings in Washington with President Bush and U.S. Secretary of State James Baker.
Observers, including members of Shamir’s entourage, could not help noticing differences between the reception the Israeli prime minister got at the White House on Nov. 15 and at the Elysee Palace on Tuesday.
For one thing, Mitterrand accepted Shamir’s visit as soon as it was proposed, and promptly extended his own invitation.
Bush waited until the last minute and seemed to make his invitation conditional on Israel’s acceptance of American proposals.
Mitterrand went out of his way to show his high esteem and friendship. The luncheon given in honor of the prime minister and his party had the intimate feel of a “family affair.”
The conversation was friendly. One member of Shamir’s party remarked that “it was a far cry from the meeting with Bush.”
Here, there were no embarrassing questions, no denunciations. Israel’s military relationship with South Africa and new Jewish settlements in the West Bank were not mentioned at the palace.
But Shamir left their meeting with little more than an assurance of France’s friendship for Israel. He does not know exactly where France stands or what are Mitterrand’s true intentions.
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