Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir shared his ideas for peace Tuesday with U.N. Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar, but declined any United Nations role in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“I don’t think we see at this moment any special role for the U.N.,” Shamir told reporters here shortly after the 30-minute meeting. “If there is any special role, we will discuss it with the general secretary.”
Shamir described his conversation with Perez de Cuellar as “very good and friendly.” though he said the two discussed Israel’s “current problems with the U.N.”
Chief among these is the General Assembly’s frequent call for an international peace conference in the Middle East. Shamir said he repeated his opposition to such a conference during the meeting.
If Perez de Cuellar spoke of any other kind of U.N. participation, Shamir did not say.
In meetings with President Bush last week, Shamir shared his plan for holding elections in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. But Palestinian leaders have rejected the idea of elections being held under Israeli supervision, and some, including Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, have suggested that the United Nations monitor the process.
In recent weeks, Israeli sources have indicated that the only U.N. role Jerusalem would consider would be for the world body to serve as “facilitator” once the two sides in the conflict agree to engage in bilateral talks.
CONCERN FOR LEBANON BLOODSHED
Shamir was also questioned Tuesday about recent clashes between Israeli soldiers and members of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.
The prime minister acknowledged that “from time to time there are some misunderstandings. But thanks to personal contacts between our commanders of the army and the commanders of UNIFIL on the ground, we seem to always overcome these misunderstandings,” he said.
Shamir said Perez de Cuellar did not ask for an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon, where Israeli forces have maintained a “security zone” along the border since the end of the war in Lebanon.
But Shamir said he had concerns of his own for Lebanon, currently in the midst of a new cycle of violence in the 14-year-old civil war.
“We see this present tragedy of Lebanon, and Beirut especially, with thousands of shells. And we see people killed and leave their houses and leave the city.
“And there is a general silence all over the world. Nobody moves to do something in order to help these Lebanese people. It is a neighbor people and it is very painful to see,” he said.
Shamir said Perez de Cuellar regrets the Lebanese violence, but told him there are “some limitations” to what the United Nations can do in the area.
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