Premier Golda Meir of Israel invited Presidential advisor Henry Kissinger’s assistance in getting Middle East peace talks started but warned that Israel would resist any attempts by Dr. Kissinger or others to impose a settlement from outside.
Appearing yesterday on the ABC-TV network program “Issues and Answers,” Mrs. Meir said,
“If he (Kissinger) thinks he can help in negotiations between the parties, all of that kind of help is more than welcome, providing it is helping to get the parties to negotiate, and not somebody from the outside providing a solution or suggesting a solution or pressing a solution.”
Mrs. Meir said she did not expect U.S. policy toward Israel to change during President Nixon’s second term. But she agreed that a settlement in Vietnam might hasten one in the Middle East. She also said she agreed that a partial agreement between Israel and Egypt to reopen the Suez Canal was the most practical first step toward a permanent settlement in the region.
She added, however, “Not that we’re not prepared to enter into negotiations with the Egyptian government on an overall agreement, but we think that realistically there are greater possibilities if we come to an agreement on this partial plan first.” Mrs. Meir reiterated her willingness to go to Cairo or any Arab capital for peace talks but “only on one condition, that the people in charge want me to come.”
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