Egypt discusses strategy at Paris talks

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32568, 30 March 1971, Page 17

Egypt discusses strategy at Paris talks

(N.Z. Press Assn.—Copyright) PARIS, March 29. Egypt’s Foreign Minister and its chief diplomats in the United States, the United Nations and Western Europe gathered in Paris today for a strategy council against the background of President Anwar Sadat’s statement yesterday that the next few days would be “decisive” for the Middle East. The meeting brought 22 diplomats, including the Foreign Minister (Mr Mahmoud Riad), the United Nations

Ambasador (Mr Mohammed Hassan ei-Zayyat) and Mr Cashral Ghorbal, Egypt’s representative in Washington to Paris for three days of closed-door talks at the Egyptian Embassy. There was a vague mood of suspense surrounding the meetings which will get under way officially tomorrow.

It developed when President Sadat told an audience fn Khartoum, Sudan, that the coming days would be “decisive in our battle for destiny.” Mr Riad added a touch of tension on his own when he characterised the situation for journalists as "not good at all.”

The Foreign Minister, who talked in Italy yesterday with President Tito of Jugo-

slavia, planned conversations today with his French counterpart, Mr Maurice Schumann, before getting down to business with his diplomats.

An Egyptian source said that the diplomats, meeting for the first time outside of Cairo, would present reports on the positions of the various Western Governments on President Sadat’s - recent peace initiative. But the main effort of the conference, the sources said, would be to draw up a vigorous campaign to show Western Governments that the current no-peace, no-war situation was extremely volatile and that Egypt was on a genuine war footing. The hope was apparently that the governments would bring pressure to bear-*-in

what measure they could—on Israel.

The conference was being held in Paris with the approval of the French Government, which drew special praise from Mr Riad on his arrival.