State Department Non-committal About Reported British, French Planned Initiatives for Mideast

The U.S. remained cautious and non-committal today in its reaction to developments in the Arab-Israeli situation, including reports of Anglo-French preparations for a separate European initiative aimed at a settlement of the Palestinian problem.

“We have no reaction to that,” the State Department’s chief spokesman Hodding Carter replied when asked about reports that an agreement has been reached between British Foreign Secretary Lord Carrington and French Foreign Minister Jacques Francois-Poncet in Paris last week and reportedly endorsed by other members of the European Common Market. According to the reports, the agreement would go into effect if President Carter’s special envoy to the Middle East, Ambassador Sol Linowitz, failed to achieve “Palestinian self-rule in the near future.”

The Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty sets May 26 as the target date for an agreement on autonomy for the West Bank and Gaza Strip. But the U.S. has repeatedly mode it understood that failure to reach it by that date would not mean a breakdown in the discussions. The State Department spokesman refused to be drawn into a discussion of the reported Carrington-Poncet strategy.

Asked if the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Donald McHenry, knew about it before he began his two-week, seven-nation four of Middle East and North African countries last Saturday, Carter said the question should be put to McHenry.

The Ambassador’s office told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that the purpose of the trip was to discuss bilateral regional issues as they “bear an the Ambassador’s responsibilities at the UN.” McHenry is visiting Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Tunisia.

SEEK REPORT ON HEBRON

Asked about the Israeli Cabinet’s decision in principle yesterday that Jews can live in the West Bank Arab town of Hebron, Carter said that American diplomats in Israel are seeking a “full report” and meanwhile he had no comment.

Questioned about Kuwait’s acquisition of Soviet surface-to-surface missiles, he said the U.S. is “aware” that Persian Gulf state is “taking delivery” of them and that “it looks like something we’ve known for a long while.” The missiles were displayed on a Kuwaiti government special television program. The Kuwaiti Defense Minister, Sheikh Salem Sabah, said Kuwait was preparing to take part in “liberating occupied Arab lands.” This was interpreted in reports from Kuwait as a “clear reference to Israel.” Asked about the report, Carter said “We have no reaction to that.”