U.S. Mideast Policy Will Be Formulated After Ford Meets with Sadat, Rabin Next Month

Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger said today that the U.S. government “will formulate a precise American policy” toward the Middle East after President Ford’s meetings with Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in Salzburg June 1-2 and with Israeli Premier Yitzhak Rabin in Washington, June 11-12.

He said he could not give a precise date when the current reassessment of American Mideast policy ordered by Ford would be completed but that “on the whole, the final decision will not be made until Ford has had an opportunity to meet with the leaders of the countries principally concerned.” He said there was no new American plan at the present time.

Kissinger made his remarks in an interview on the NBC-TV “Today” program. He said there was no question that the U.S. would continue its efforts toward a Middle East settlement but that “all parties on both sides have an obligation to explain what they can do to produce peace.”

He said that “On the Israeli side, this is a question of what territory they are prepared to give up” and “on the Arab side, it is a question of what concrete commitments to peace they are prepared to make.” Kissinger warned that “a prolonged stalemate in the Middle East involves a high risk of another Middle East war with major consequences for the possibility of a conflict with the Soviet Union and with a major impact on the economies of all the industrialized nations, including us.” He said “This is a danger that we are determined to avoid. We believe that it is also in the interests of all the participants–all the parties in the Middle East, including Israel.”

MISSILES FOR JORDAN ACKNOWLEDGED

Kissinger’s appearance on the “Today” program came as U.S. officials acknowledged that the U.S. will supply Jordan with nearly 200 “Hawk” ground-to-air missiles worth some $100 million and other military equipment despite the freeze on new American arms to Israel pending completion of the reassessment process. State Department officials tried hard to play down the significance of the disclosure five days after King Hussein of Jordan attended a White House dinner and conferred with Ford.

They said the deal was not a “new commitment” inasmuch as Kissinger agreed to it in principle when he visited Amman last November and that it will not alter the Middle East power balance. Kissinger, they said, gave Jordan “a verbal commitment” more than a year ago to help its air defense.

Asked why new arms shipments to Israel remain suspended but not to Jordan although the reassessment was officially announced as applying to all countries in the Middle East, one official replied, “You are comparing apples and oranges.” Israel had been promised about 200 “Lance” ground-to-ground mobile missiles of a 40-mile range and their delivery had been arranged but shipment was halted pending the reassessment. The Defense Department said that U.S. commitments to Israel, apart from certain weapons, had been completed April 1.