UN Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar said Monday that at present there is no sufficient agreement between the parties to the Middle East conflict to permit the convening of an international conference for peace.
The Secretary General said that he drew this conclusion following consultations during March and April in New York with representatives of Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and also the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
In a report to the UN General Assembly and the Security Council, issued here Monday, Perez de Cuellar said, however, that all the parties involved in the consultations “showed interest in a settlement of the conflict in the Middle East, and some viewed it as a matter of great urgency.” He added nonetheless that views differed both on the form of the conference and the way it should be prepared.
The Secretary General said that he was encouraged “by the indications of greater flexibility on this issue (international conference) amongst the parties.” But he also added that “it is evident that very deep differences remain between the parties, and I do not underestimate the difficulties involved in resolving those differences and in creating agreement on procedures that will permit effective negotiations to the satisfactions of all concerned.”
Perez de Cuellar said that he intends in months to come to continue his contacts with the parties “in order to try to find ways of bridging the gaps between them.”
The Secretary General also reported on his consultations with members of the Security Council on the issue of international conference. He said that in contrast to recent years, this time “none of the Council members opposed in principle the idea of an international conference under United Nations auspices.”
The Secretary General’s report followed a request of a General Assembly resolution on December 2, 1986, that he should prepare a review of efforts toward convening an international peace conference on the Middle East.
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