Sharp Says Imposed Settlement Will Not Aid Peace in the Middle East

Mitchell Sharp, Canadian Minister for External Affairs, told Jewish leaders here last night that Canada is convinced that an imposed settlement would not bring about peace in the Middle East. He said Canada would welcome steps toward direct or indirect negotiations between Israel and the Arab nations.

Speaking at the second annual parliamentary dinner of the Canada-Israel Committee attended by 150 Members of Parliament and 120 Jewish leaders from throughout the country, Sharp said that Security Council Resolution 242 was a meticulous resolution which Canada helped draft and continues to support.

Sharp said Canada also believed that a partial or interim settlement could be the first step toward a comprehensive settlement. He also deplored the spread of terror from the Middle East to areas far removed from the crisis and said Canada will ask for international cooperation to speed the elimination of the problem.

Dr. Theodor Meron. Israel’s Ambassador to Canada, called on the Arab states to negotiate with Israel and said if they did, “they will not be disappointed. ” He said his country was pleased by the growing ties in the economic, cultural and social fields between Canada and Israel. Sharp also noted that relations between the two countries were growing in both quantity and quality.

Aaron Pollack, chairman of the Canada-Israel Committee, and a prominent Montreal lawyer, praised the moral support of all Canadian political leaders, regardless of party, for Israel’s right to live in peace and prosperity in the Middle East, “It is not too much to hope that the spirit of reconciliation will yet permeate the politics, of the Middle East, so that the vision of Jerusalem will unfold as a reality,” Pollack said.

Also speaking at the dinner honoring Israel’s 25th anniversary were Claude Wagner, foreign affairs spokesman for the Progressive-Conservative Party, and David Lewis, chairman of the New Democratic Party.