The United States and the Soviet reaffirmed tonight their determination to work together to achieve a peaceful solution in the Middle East. The declaration was contained in a joint communique issued here following two days of talks between Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger and Soviet Foreign Minister Andrel Gromyko.
Kissinger told newsmen today that there had been “differences” in the positions of the two superpowers but the talks had been “fruitful” and in the interest of world peace. He said that no date had been set for reconvening the Geneva peace conference.
American sources said that though Gromyko pressed Kissinger to set a time limit for holding the Geneva conference he finally agreed to let the Secretary continue with his step-by-step approach. The sources indicated that Gromyko said the Soviet Union will neither help nor hinder Kissinger in his quest for a partial agreement between Israel and Egypt. Both Kissinger and Gromyko agreed, these sources said, that ultimately all the parties will have to return to the Geneva conference. Kissinger and Gromyko covered a wide range of topics in their tow days of talks but concentrated on the Middle East in their five-hour session today.
In the joint communique the two powers said they believed the Geneva conference “should play an important part in the establishment of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, and should resume its work at an early date.” The communique said the U.S. and the Soviet Union “remain concerned over the dangers persisting in the situation there. They reaffirmed their intention to make every effort to promote a solution of the key issues of a just and lasting peace in the area.”
UN RESOLUTION 338 AS A BASIS
The solution should be based on United Nations Resolution 338 of October 1973, calling on Israel and Arab forces to cease fire and engage in negotiations to establish a just and durable peace, the communique said. It said the solution should also take into account “the legitimate interests of all the peoples of the area, including the Palestinian people, and respect for the right to independent existence of all states in the area.”
Western and Israeli observers in Geneva expressed their satisfaction with the communique which allows Kissinger to continue his efforts in the Mideast.
Both Israel and the U.S. agree to return to Geneva but believe that the conference should be thoroughly prepared beforehand and that Kissinger’s step-by-step diplomacy stands a good chance to achieve a partial agreement which could set the conference going. It is believed that the two ministers, who also lunched together at Kissinger’s Geneva hotel, did not go into the details of the Secretary’s plan for an additional disengagement but dealt with the entire issue in a more global way.
Kissinger told newsmen that Egyptian President Anwar Sadat will pay an official visit to Washington “during the first half of this year,” probably before the end of June. He gave no other details, Kissinger later today arrived in London where he will brief British Prime Minister Harold Wilson on the developments in the Mideast. He is scheduled to return to Switzerland tomorrow for lunch with the Shah of Iran and will go to Paris Wednesday for talks with the French President.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
