The State Department rejected today the contention by United Nations Secretary General Kurt Waldheim that hopes for an interim Suez Canal agreement were all but dead and that Middle East peace efforts should center on the Jarring mission.
“For our part,” said Department spokesman Charles Bray, “we continue to think there are prospects for an interim agreement and we will be working to that end and we will continue to support the Jarring mission.” The attempt to reach a canal pact as a first step toward an overall settlement is an American initiative. Bray made his comment when the correspondent of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency advised him of Waldheim’s remarks yesterday at the UN.
The State Department maintained a hush-hush approach today toward yesterday’s meetings of Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Dayan, Secretary of State William P. Rogers and Secretary of Defense Melvin R. Laird. Bray would say only that they discussed all aspects of the Mideast situation, including the “proximity” talks that Israel has accepted. (See Page 3 for separate story on Dayan.)
Bray added that the US will ask Egypt next week to agree to such talks under US auspices, even though Egyptian President Anwar Sadat recently declared he was breaking of negotiations with this country.
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