Egyptian War Minister Abdel Gamassy said here today that President Anwar Sadat’s peace initiative has not failed. But he ruled out a separate peace agreement with Israel and denied that Egypt is seeking additional arms from the U.S. beyond the 50 F-5E fighters recently approved by the Senate.
Gamassy, who met with Defense Secretary Harold Brown yesterday, said, in reply to reporters’ questions, that President Sadat “did not threaten war” when he told Egyptian troops this week to be prepared for battle if Israel does not respond satisfactorily to his peace initiative. “President Sadat’s goal is to work with Israel with an open mind. The peace initiative has not failed yet in order to seek other possibilities, “he said. He added that “In case the peace initiative Fails, I assure you that President Sadat will be ready to take the hard decisions at the time.”
Gamassy said there could be no separate peace between Israel and Egypt because as long as the Palestinian issue is not settled “trouble in the Middle East would persist.”
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