The State Department said today it was studying an eight-point proposal for Middle East peace proposed by Crown Prince Fahd of Saudi Arabia.
But the Department’s deputy spokesman, Alan Romburg, said that the United States has seen nothing but press reports about Fahd’s proposal which said that the Arab states would accept United Nations Security Council Resolutions recognizing Israel’s rights to “live in peace” if Israel withdrew from the administered territories and a Palestinian state was established there.
Romburg also said that the United States had heard “nothing from the Saudis” about Fahd’s reported threat to cancel a visit to the United States in October unless the United States changed its policy on Israel.
ISRAEL AND SADAT REJECT SAUDI PLAN
Both Israel and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat have rejected Fahd’s Mideast peace proposal. While the Israelis saw some progress in Fahd’s proposal to recognize the Jewish State, Sadat said yesterday on NBC-TV’s “Meet the Press” that this proposal was “nothing new.” Instead, he urged the Saudis to join in the Camp David peace process.
Sadat indicated yesterday that Fahd made his proposals at this time in response to Sadat’s own trip to Washington where he urged the Reagan Administration, as the next step in the Mideast process, to begin talks with the Palestine Liberation Organization.
MOVE TO GIVE SAUDIS MODERATE IMAGE
However, there is some belief that this is part of the effort to give the Saudis a moderate image in order to convince Congress not to reject the Administration’s proposal to sell five AWACS reconnaissance planes to Saudi Arabia. Administration spokesmen have stressed in recent weeks the help Saudi Arabia gave the United States to achieve the cease-fire across the Israel-Lebanon border.
Sadat, throughout his visit to Washington, stressed that although the Saudis are attacking him daily for his participation in the Camp David process, he wanted to praise their efforts in getting the Palestinians and the Syrians to stop shooting at Israel from Lebanon.
All of this seems to round out President Reagan’s personal plea to members of the House and Senate, as they left for their summer vacations last week, not to “prejudge” the AWACS sale. Up to now there has been a majority in both Houses of Congress against the sale of the AWACS to Saudi Arabia.
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