Premier Menachem Begin displayed annoyance over what he claimed was lack of information from U.S. special envoy Philip Habib on the progress of his mission to defuse the Israeli-Syrian missile crisis. Begin told reporters yesterday after a special Cabinet meeting dealing with economic matters that he had been waiting for two days to hear something but so far had heard nothing.
Begin said he understood that Habib was awaiting word from Saudi Arabia before he decided whether to return to Damascus. He said Habib might return to Washington if his mission encountered difficulties. Sources at the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv said yesterday that waiting for developments in Riyadh was part of the political process aimed at solving the missile crisis.
Rif Al-Assad, brother of President Hafez Assad of Syria and his right-hand man, is in the Saudi capital on an unidentified mission. It was seen as a sign that the Syrians are still willing to negotiate a political solution.
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