Shimon Peres, chairman of Israel’s Labor Party, met here today with President Valery Giscard d’ Estaing for 90 minutes for a detailed discussion of Middle East issues on which France and Israel generally disagree. During his one-day visit here, Peres also conferred with Giscard’s two chief rivals in the French presidential elections scheduled for April, Socialist Francois Mitterand and Gaullist Jacques Chirac. Peres is due in London tomorrow where he is to meet with Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Foreign Secretary Lord Carrington.
In talks with Giscard, the Israeli leader reportedly explained the “Jordanian option,” to which the Labor Party is pledged, and stressed that a solution for the West Bank based on an agreement with Jordan’s King Hussein could be the way to a comprehensive peace.
Later, when reporter reminded Peres that Hussein has categorically refused to participate in such talks with Israel, the Labor Party leader said: “I am less pessimistic than you are. This is the Middle East and today’s denials carry little worth tomorrow. Remember that President (Anwar) Sadat also ruled out any Egyptian talks with Israel only a few months before he flew to Jerusalem.”
EXPLAINED RESPECTIVE VIEWPOINTS
The French government is skeptical about both the long-range application of the Camp David agreements and implementation of a Jordanian option, Peres told reporters on leaving the Elysee Palace, “We disagreed on many points.”
The Socialists, whom the latest public opinion polls give a 50-50 chance to beat Giscard, have been pledged to the Jordanian option since the Socialist International conference in Madrid last year.
Peres tried to impress on the three election rivals he met the possibility of cooperation between Israel and Europe and stressed the important role which Europe could play in the search for a solution to the Middle East conflict by increasing its economic cooperation with the region and by “pressing Hussein to join in the peace talks.”
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.
