State Department Plays Down Reports That U.S. is Studying Guarantees to Israel at This Time

The State Department appeared to play down today reports that the U.S. was studying guarantees to Israel in connection with a second-stage Israeli-Egyptian agreement in Sinai. Department spokesman Robert Anderson told reporters that Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger did not engage in any kind of discussions with Middle East leaders on the possibilities of U.S. guarantees of a peace settlement in this phase of the diplomacy he is presently conducting.

“We have no proposals on this line–guarantees unspecified,” Anderson said, adding, however, that “it may be relevant” in time. Anderson, who accompanied Kissinger on his recent visit to the Middle East, said that the “various parties, publicly, from time to time, mentioned guarantees but more in the context of an overall settlement.” He stressed several times, in reply to reporters’ questions that the guarantees mentioned are “unspecified.” He said that during his Middle East trip, Kissinger made no proposals regarding “the next interim step or guarantees or anything else” and that “we have no proposals here but obviously it will be looked at here in due course.”

Anderson’s remarks today seemed to contradict reports yesterday that a senior U.S. official told reporters on Kissinger’s plane between Zurich and Paris that the State Department, at the Secretary’s instructions, was studying U.S. guarantees to Israel. According to the reports, the official said the study was being conducted by the State Department’s legal and military experts and that two of the questions they were considering were who would determine when a situation arose that required the implementation of guarantees and what the U.S. would be obligated to do if such a situation occurred.

Asked if Kissinger had discussed Mideast guarantees at his breakfast meeting with Congressional leaders at the White House this morning, Anderson said he didn’t know, but that the Secretary probably would have told the Congressmen the same thing he was telling reporters.

Kissinger will meet with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee next week. He had lunch today with its chairman, Sen. John Sparkman (D. Ala.), Sen. John Stennis (D.Miss.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said on leaving the White House meeting with Kissinger today that the Secretary’s report on the Middle East had been “very illuminating.” He said no date has been set for resumption of the Geneva peace conference.

ANOTHER INTERIM STEP BEFORE GENEVA

Anderson described the Secretary as “guardedly optimistic” that future progress can be made on an agreement between Israel and Egypt. Asked why Kissinger was determined to return to the Middle East next month, Anderson said that the “momentum” for further progress required talking directly with Mideast leaders. He said the “next step” in Kissinger’s diplomacy “is very definitely another interim step.” Anderson stated he would not discuss when the Geneva conference might be resumed because “the main point is to concentrate on the next step” and “if that is successful, then to consider what to do next.”

Asked about reports that Syria is trying to upset a second-stage Israeli-Egyptian agreement, Anderson said that Kissinger had “very good talks” with Syrian President Hafez Assad in Damascus. He said he knew of no development that changed the Secretary’s view that another step might be achieved between Israel and Egypt.

Anderson noted that if the next step is successful, Kissinger would be “in close consultation with Assad to determine what would be necessary to do.” Anderson did not comment on reports today that the Secretary was troubled by a Syrian campaign to thwart a new Israeli-Egyptian agreement.

On his arrival at Andrews Air Force Base form Paris yesterday, Kissinger told reporters, “I believe we have made some progress on establishing the framework for further negotiations in the Middle East.” Asked how many steps would be needed to reach a Mideast peace settlement, the Secretary replied, “I don’t know but I hope we can move a step at a time.” He said he was not claiming any major results for his recent trip.