Assistant Secretary of State Dean Hinton, the head of a three man American delegation here to discuss energy problems with Israeli officials, said today that the U.S. would honor its commitment to supply Israel with oil in case of an emergency. The commitment was mode when Israel agreed to relinquish the Sinai oil fields under the terms of its peace treaty with Egypt.
Hinton is holding three days of talks with Energy Minister Yitzhak Modai and other officials. The talks, to have been held last month, were postponed when Secretary of State Edmond Muskie took office, replacing Cyrus Vance, who resigned. They will be devoted primarily to conditions under which the American commitment would become operative.
Modai said Israel was not necessarily demanding that the agreement go into effect immediately. However, Israel wants the U.S. to recognize any steep rise in the price of oil as an emergency situation which would put the agreement into effect.
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