The United States will urge its European allies and the Soviet Union to limit or place tighter controls on weapons sales to the Middle East, a State Department official said Wednesday.
“This is one of the things the Soviets could do in terms of demonstrating their will and interest in the Middle East,” said Edward Walker, deputy assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern and South Asian affairs.
He warned that the Western European countries would not agree to curtail their sales if the Soviets or their allies, such as North Korea, fill the vacuum.
Walker spoke to the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on Europe and the Middle East. Usually the assistant secretary testifies before the subcommittee, but President Bush only Tuesday formally nominated John Kelly, a career foreign service officer, to the post.
Although Kelly was ambassador to Lebanon from 1986 to 1988, he is not considered in the same mold of Middle East experts as his predecessor, Richard Murphy.
On the Soviet Union’s Middle East peace initiative, Walker said the proposals made by Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze during his 10-day visit to the region were “not particularly constructive. They are repetitions of previous Soviet positions that we have not found to be reasonable or a good avenue to direct negotiations” with Israel, its Arab neighbors and the Palestinians.
RECOGNIZING ISRAEL
The Soviets must “make some very hard choices,” Walker said, including diplomatically recognizing Israel. “They have been engaged in a gradualist approach, so I would assume they will not” recognize Israel soon, he said. “They are not quite sure how it will play with the Arab client-states like Syria.”
The United States is urging Arab nations as well to recognize Israel publicly, Walker said.
Walker said the United States is continuing to discuss with Israel the threat of chemical weapons it faces. He called reports that Jordan is trying to acquire chemical weapons “inaccurate.”
Asked if there has been any change in Israel’s handling of the Palestinian uprising since the State Department’s Feb. 8 human rights report, Walker said, “We have perceived some changes in tactics and techniques used” by the Israel Defense Force.
He referred to Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s recent report to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. In that report, Rabin was quoted as saying, “If present measures continue, you risk depriving people of any hope and any incentive to keep the level of violence down.”
Walker urged IDF riot control troops to be “less visible or provocative.” He said Israeli troops cannot “just stay away” from the territories, but must strike a “delicate balance.”
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