State Department spokesman Charles Bray said today that reported complaints by President Anwar Sadat of Egypt about the failure of U.S. efforts to effect a peace settlement in the Middle East were “a matter of regret.” Bray qualified his remark by indicating that the U.S. Special Interests Section in Cairo has not yet confirmed the content of Sadat’s remarks published yesterday in the Beirut newspaper Al Bairaq.
According to the newspaper, Sadat told its publisher, Milherm Karam, who was in Cairo, that he has given up all hope in U.S. efforts to bring about a peaceful settlement in the Middle East. Sadat was said to have recalled his contacts with Washington in 1971 on the problem of Arab-Israeli peace and declared, “It was a test of peace and Washington flunked the test.” The Beirut newspaper also reported that Sadat chastized other Arab governments for their failure to arrive at a joint plan to pressure the U.S. to revise its policy of supporting Israel.
Bray declined to comment when he was asked by a reporter if the State Department thought the tone of Sadat’s alleged statement differed significantly from comments received from Egypt in the past. The Department spokesman reiterated the U.S. position which, he said, consisted of attempts to get negotiations started with a view toward reaching an interim Suez Canal agreement.
SITUATION CHARACTERIZED AS FLUID
At the moment, Bray stated, American attempts to bring about a peaceful settlement are largely confined to bringing influence to bear through the course of ”regular” communications with all the governments concerned. He would not speculate as to the course future peace efforts might take, emphasizing that the situation was “fluid.”
Bray stressed the sincerity of U.S. intentions in this area by noting that “both the President and the Secretary of State” continue to “give priority to the Middle East and its problems and their intention to be active in attempts to get a negotiating process started.” Bray added, “I doubt that there can be any serious misunderstanding with respect to these intentions.”
Asked to comment on United Nations Secretary General Kurt Waldheim’s statement at a press conference yesterday that he was ready to take a personal initiative in Middle East peace negotiations, including a possible trip to that region, Bray said “We are not aware of any decision on his part in this matter.” He added, however, that the U.S. “Would not exclude this possibility.” He said it was “clearly a matter for the Secretary General to decide in consultation with the parties concerned.” Asked if the U.S. was one of the parties, Bray replied affirmatively.
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