Premier Yitzhak Shamir reaffirmed Israel’s opposition to the Soviet Union’s proposal for an international conference on the Middle East and asserted that the proposal is also not acceptable to the United States or the Western European governments.
Reviewing recent diplomatic developments, Shamir told the Cabinet yesterday that the Soviet proposal, outlined last month, is unworkable. He noted that Israel’s international standing was improving and that in the next few months, some seven heads of states, Premiers and Foreign Ministers are scheduled to visit the country.
JORDAN, LEBANON FAVOR SOVIET PROPOSAL
The Soviet proposal calls for talks between the USSR, the U.S., Israel, its Arab neighbors and the Palestine Liberation Organization. Jordan has indicated support for the proposal, which calls for a return of territories captured by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War. It also seeks the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and the return of East Jerusalem to Arab control.
The Lebanese government was reported to have indicated its support for the Soviet proposal, according to reports from Beirut. The independent An-Nahar and the leftist As Safir, two Beirut newspapers, quoted Foreign Ministry sources yesterday as having told a visiting Soviet official that Lebanon supports the concept of an international meeting on the Middle East.
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