Despite the Libyan airliner tragedy, the international atmosphere has improved for further progress in establishing “a process for negotiation” in the Middle East, Joseph J. Sisco, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs, said today.
Appearing on CBS-TV “Face the Nation,” he pointed to the “utmost restraint” by Arab leaders since the incident, President Nixon’s “very useful discussion” with Jordan’s King Hussein Feb. 6, and the “cordial, frank discussion” conducted by Secretary of State William P. Rogers and Deputy Secretary Kenneth Rush with Hafez Ismail, Egyptian President Sadat’s special emissary. Sisco said Ismail “made an effective presentation of the Egyptian position” in Washington Friday.
CBS reporter Robert Plerpoint asked Sisco whether the United States would continue to supply weapons to Israel from the half-billion dollar pipeline earmarked for Israel. Sisco replied that the issue of continuing weapons to Israel to maintain the arms balance in the Mideast would be discussed with Israeli Premier Golda Meir when she visits Washington this week. Mrs. Meir is to appear on Face the Nation next Sunday, CBS announced.
Sisco said that the Libyan airliner crash “reflected the deep distrust in the Middle East” and is “a cogent reminder–if we need a cogent reminder–that, as President Nixon has said, we must get this situation (in the Middle East) off dead center.” Sisco added that “this is a time for private diplomacy” to explore the views of all parties and that this will be the focus of talks with Mrs. Meir.
Asked about Soviet-American relations in regard to the Middle East, Sisco said that the two super-powers at their summit conference last May in Moscow “committed themselves” not only to the goals of the UN Security Council Resolution 242 but also to the principle of no confrontation between the major powers. This is, he said, “paralleled” by the interest of both countries to maintain the cease-fire in the area.
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