Sisco in Israel; Reaffirms U.S. Mideast Policy Based on UN Mideast Resolution

Joseph J. Sisco. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs arrived at Lydda Airport late this afternoon from Nicosia. Cyprus. He answered no questions but made a formal statement to newsmen re-affirming that U.S. Middle East policy is based fully on the United Nations Security Council’s Nov. 22, 1967 resolution which it views as the “fundamental essential” for peace in the area. Mr. Sisco was met at the airport by United States Ambassador Walworth Barbour and officials of the Israeli Foreign Ministry. Foreign Minister Abba Eban was not present. The American diplomat will spend the night at the U.S. Embassy here and will start talks with Foreign Minister Eban tomorrow. He will also meet with Premier Golda Meir. Deputy Premier Yigal Allon and Defense Minister Moshe Dayan. On Thursday he will tour Israeli settlements in the Jordan Valley and will cross the Allenby bridge in the afternoon on his way to Amman. Jordan.

Some Israeli newspapers commented today on the brevity of Mr. Sisco’s visit to Israel compared to his four-day stay in Cairo which ended yesterday. Western diplomats here said this might mean that the Nixon administration felt it had much more fence-mending to do in Egypt. Mr. Sisco told newsmen at the airport that his visit to the Mideast, enroute to a meeting of U.S. mission chiefs in Teheran, was to “hear at first hand the hopes and concerns of the leaders of the countries of the area.” “As to my visit to the Arab states and Israel, I wish to emphasize that the American policy is fully based on the UN resolution of Nov., 1967. America sees in this resolution a fundamental essentiality to the peace in this area. This peace is the only alternative to the tragic cycle of death and destruction,” Mr. Sisco said. He added that the U.S. “will pursue efforts to help all parties concerned reach an agreement in whatever possible way to help all those countries that would carry out the UN resolution. It is essential that the leaders in the region make more efforts to try and come to terms.”

ISRAELI LEADERS ANXIOUS TO HEAR WHAT SISCO AND EGYPTIAN OFFICIALS DISCUSSED

Israeli leaders are expected to ask Mr. Sisco for a detailed rundown of his talks in Cairo with President Gamal Abdel Nasser and other high Egyptian officials. Some sources said the Israel government would also renew its request for more Phantom and Sky hawk jets and would ask for $1.5 billion in U.S. economic aid over the next five years. They are expected to stress Israel’s demand for restoration of the cease-fire which Egypt renounced a year ago and will reiterate Israel’s refusal to accept the Mideast peace plan outlined last Dec. 9 by Secretary of State William P. Rogers. Some political spokesmen expressed misgivings over the U.S.-Egyptian talks in Cairo, the first since Egypt broke diplomatic relations with Washington during the June, 1967 Six-Day War. They said that the outcome of Mr. Sisco’s talks with Nasser and his Foreign Minister Mahmoud Riad, if any, would not be felt for some time.

The spokesmen expressed concern about what they described as the “second level” dialogue between the State Department and American businessmen and oil magnates headed by former Secretary of the Treasury Anderson. A favorable development in these talks may have adverse affects on Israel’s relations with the U.S. because of the influence that business circles exert on the administration, spokesmen said. (Washington Star correspondent Ell Eyal reported from Jerusalem today that Mr. Sisco might have brought new Egyptian cease-fire proposals to Israel but any proposals from Egypt are likely to be met with skepticism by the Israelis. He quoted a Foreign Ministry official as saying that Nasser might propose a cease-fire to give him the opportunity to install Soviet SAM-3 anti-aircraft missiles unhindered by Israeli air attacks. According to Mr. Eyal, Israel has already stopped bombing raids on military installations around Cairo but has not announced it yet.)