Secretary General Kurt Waldheim, who is currently visiting Austria, is scheduled to leave for Lebanon and Israel at the beginning of next week, it was reported here last night. According to a UN spokesman, Waldheim will meet in Beirut with top government officials and with representatives of the Palestine Liberation Organization. It was not known if Waldheim and PLO leader Yasir Arafat will meet, but sources here said such a possibility is not excluded.
From Beirut, Waldheim is scheduled to go to Jerusalem where he will hold talks with Premier Menachem Begin and Defense Minister Ezer Weizman on the situation in south Lebanon and urge a total Israeli withdrawal from the area as called for by Resolution 425 of March 19. Waldheim is scheduled to return to New York in time to attend a special meeting of the General Assembly dealing with UNIFIL finances on April 20.
In view of Waldheim’s visit and the second stage of Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon tomorrow, Security Council members decided yesterday not to convene a formal meeting on the issue of south Lebanon until they hear Waldheim’s report on the situation there. Waldheim is expected to visit south Lebanon and inspect the UN peacekeeping force there. He will hold consultations with General Ensio Siilasvuo, supreme commander of UN forces in the Mideast, and other UN officials in the area.
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