U.S. Seeking to Allay Israeli Suspicions, Pessimism over Prospects of Peace

The United States is seeking to allay Israeli suspicions and growing pessimism over the prospects of a peace settlement with Egypt and to bolster its confidence in continuing American support and friendship. That was the thrust of the message conveyed to Premier Golda Meir by U.S. Undersecretary of State Kenneth Rush in over two hours of talks last night with Mrs. Meir and other Israeli leaders. Rush met for over an hour this morning with Foreign Minister Abba Eban, after which he told reporters he was optimistic. over the prospects of a more stable cease-fire and was confident the Geneva peace conference will open as scheduled Dec. 18. Rush, who headed the official U.S. delegation attending the funeral of former Premier David Ben Gurion yesterday, used the occasion of his brief visit to meet Israeli leaders and ease their doubts, especially over recent reports alleging U.S. pressure, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency learned. Rush made it clear that Israel can depend on American friendship and that Washington is resolute in its efforts to pursue its initiatives aimed at stabilizing the cease-fire and paving the way for the Geneva conference.

Rush also stressed that the U.S. has no specific peace plans that it wants to see implemented at Geneva and does not intend to present the parties with a peace package, the JTA was informed. In his talks with Mrs. Meir, which the American diplomat described as “very satisfactory,” he reportedly sought to persuade her that Israeli fears of a new outbreak of hostilities were exaggerated. According to top Israeli sources, the U.S. is confident that fighting will not be resumed before the Geneva conference gets underway. The talks did not touch on the crucial question of borders, on which the American position has yet to be defined. But Rush did refer to the matter of U.S.guarantees and explained that Washington viewed them as paralleling an agreement on secure borders rather than substituting for such an agreement, the JTA learned. This apparently eased Israeli doubts for the time being though American views on what constitutes secure borders remain unknown.

Rush also sought to calm Israeli fears arising from newspaper reports–especially a New York Times report published yesterday–that the Nixon Administration intends to place strong pressure on Israel for concessions. The Administration position, as conveyed by Rush, is that such reports are out of proportion and often out of context. He asserted that newsmen tend to misinterpret U.S. signaling to one or another of the Middle East parties in the course of continuing diplomatic dialogue, an American source here said. Rush’s meeting with Eban this morning was reportedly confined to means to stabilize the current cease-fire and are also believed to have discussed the details of procedure at the Geneva conference.