A White House statement following the first meeting this morning between President Carter and Israeli Premier Menachem Begin said the two leaders in their two hours of talks had “a thorough discussion on the issues that must be resolved in order to ensure continuity and progress in the peace negotiations.” The statement said that “in particular, they have reviewed the status of negotiations on a declaration of principles (by Egypt and Israel) and they have examined the question of the West Bank and Gaza.”
The President, the statement continued, “expressed the view that despite the recent increase in violence in the area there remains a deep conviction that renewed progress toward peace is essential and that the door to progress remains open. The statement added that Carter “urged all those involved” to make “the historic decisions on which peace now depends.”
White House spokesman Rex Granum said that the southern Lebanon situation “did not come up as a subject of discussion” this morning, but “it is likely to come up” in the meetings between Carter and Begin tonight and tomorrow. Granum said the key issues this morning centered on the Palestinians and UN Security Council Resolution 242 “as it pertains to withdrawal” and in the context of the declaration of principles.
Asked if the atmosphere at the meeting was serious and candid, Granum replied: “It was not only serious and candid but candid and serious in the spirit of our close relationship with Israel.”
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