The State Department distanced itself today from former President Carter’s meeting with two officials of the Palestine Liberation Organization in Egypt, but refused to criticize it.
Department spokesman John Hughes said that Carter, “as a private citizen,” can meet with whomever he wants. He said that he does not believe Carter discussed his plans to meet with the PLO officials when he met with Secretary of State George Shultz before departing for the Middle East. But Hughes added that as a “courtesy” Carter probably informed the U.S. Embassy in Cairo that he was planning to meet with the terrorist officials. Hughes added that Carter was not given any “message” from the Reagan Administration to take with him to the Middle East.
The spokesman reaffirmed that “we are not talking to the PLO” until it accepts United Nations Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338 and recognizes the existence of the State of Israel.
CARTER TO ARRIVE IN ISRAEL ON TUESDAY
Meanwhile, it was announced in Jerusalem that Carter is scheduled to arrive in Israel tomorrow for a week-long visit as the guest of Premier Menachem Begin. He will have meetings with Begin and Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir and with leaders of the opposition Labor Alignment, the announcement said.
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