The State Department confirmed today that Israeli Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir will come to Washington at the end of this week for discussions with Secretary of State George Shultz but could not give the exact day of his arrival or say how long he will remain here. (See related story from Israel, P. 3)
Department spokesman John Hughes said the main topic would be Lebanon although other issues on the Middle East would be discussed by Shamir and Shultz, including the SAM-5 anti-aircraft missiles the Soviet Union has recently installed in Syria.
Israel suggested the meeting and Shultz “welcomed” it, Hughes said. He said he did not know if it would be a “prelude” to scheduling Premier Menachem Begin’s long delayed visit to Washington
U.S. special Ambassador Philip Habib will return to Washington from California tomorrow and will attend the meetings with Shamir, Hughes said. Habib returned Saturday from the Middle East, where he had been participating in the negotiations between Israel and Lebanon, to accept an award in San Francisco last night.
Shamir is expected to bring with him the reported concessions Israel is prepared to make toward an agreement for the withdrawal of its troops from Lebanon and probably will seek changes in the U.S. position, particularly its opposition to Israel’s demands for normalization of relations with Lebanon. (By David Friedman)
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