Secretary of State George Shultz stressed again today that the Soviet Union cannot be considered as a part of the Middle East peace process until it restores diplomatic relations with Israel and improves its policies toward Soviet Jews.
“To have a ticket of admission, at least a country must have diplomatic relationships with Israel,” Shultz said on the NBC-TV “Meet the Press” program. He added that “At least, it must address the way it treats Jews within its own country. At least it must take a look at the problem of the people who want to emigrate.”
Shultz said President Reagan had a “lengthy and intense discussion” with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev on human rights during their talks in Geneva last week. This was echoed by White House Chief of Staff Donald Regan in an appearance on the CBS-TV “Face the Nation” program.
But Regan stressed that this issue was best handled in private discussions. However, Shultz noted that the U.S. has publicly outlined its position on human rights and referred to his speech in Helsinki last July where he listed Soviet human rights violations against Jews and others.
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