Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze told reporters here Tuesday that the Soviet Union believes an international conference “is the only approach” to Arab-Israeli peace.
“This approach is shared by all the U.N. Security Council members and the Arabs,” he contended at a news conference following talks here with U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz.
“Without an international conference, bilateral negotiations are impossible. I know that this concept is shared by (Israeli) Foreign Minister Shimon Peres. Whether he is able to reach an agreement with his prime minister, I do not know.”
Peres advocates such a conference as a precursor to direct negotiations. Premier Yitzhak Shamir contends the prospect of a conference is preventing Arab states from negotiating now.
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