The State Department said today that the sale of four categories of military equipment to Israel, pledged by President Ford last Oct. 8, continues under consideration. Department spokesman Frederick Z. Brown said that the review has not been concluded and that the. Carter Administration would consult with members of Congress as part of the review.
Brown said he did not know whether the process would be completed before Secretary of State Cyrus R. Vance leaves on a six-nation tour of the Middle East Feb. 15. Asked by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency if the delay in approving the sales was related to the balance of power in the Middle East or to the psychological impact on Israel and its Arab neighbors. Brown replied that it is a complicated case, militarily and politically.
He noted that “The whole question of arms sales has a very high priority in this Administration” for both “ongoing and future sales.” Brown announced that in preparation for his Middle East trip. Vance met at the State Department today with the ambassadors of Syria. Egypt. Saudi Arabia and Lebanon and the Charge d’ Affaires of Jordan. He met with the Arab envoys as a group. He was scheduled to meet separately this afternoon with Israeli Ambassador Simcha Dinitz.
Brown said the meeting underlined the importance the Secretary places on U.S. diplomacy in the Mideast and on the need for progress toward a settlement.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
