No war and no peace policy

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32846, 21 February 1972, Page 13

No war and no peace policy

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright) CAIRO, Feb. 20.

The Soviet Defence Minister (Marshal Andrei Grechko) and Dr Gunnar Jarring, the U.N. special Middle East envoy, held separate talks with Egyptian Ministers in Cairo yesterday in an interesting double visit reflecting Egypt’s no war and no peace situation.

Marshal Grechko, who flew in for a four-day visit yesterday, conferred with the Egyptian War Minister (General Mohamed Sadek). Marshal Grechko later had a meeting with President Anwar Sadat but details were unlikely to be made public since the discussions were of a military nature.

Dr Jarring met the Foreign Minister (Dr Mourad Ghaleb) and continued the discussions at a luncheon given in his honour. The Soviet Minister’s visit is regarded as an extension of the talks President Sadat held in Moscow recently and underlines the present extent of Soviet-Egyptian co-opera-tion.

Marshal Grechko’s arrival came on the very day that Mr Mohamed Heykal, a close friend of President Sadat, revealed in his influential “Al Ahram” newspaper that

Egypt had uncovered an American spy ring in Cairo towards the end of last year.

The disclosure marked a rock bottom in Cairo’s relations with Washington and reflects President Sadat’s belief that he has been misled by United Nations peace efforts in the Middle East which have backfired into more American military aid for Israel.

Dr Jarring declined to discuss his visit, but is believed to have brought no dramatic new proposals on the Middle East.

He is in Egypt at the invitation of Dr Ghaleb and is expected to rbtum to the United Nations to report to United Nations SecretaryGeneral (Dr Kurt Waldheim). The envoy said that he would not be visiting Israel during this visit to the Middle East.

Dr Jarring presented Dr Ghaleb with his conception of the present Middle East situation and his mission, sources said.

The Egyptian Foreign Minister is reported to have told the United Nations envoy that Cairo’s position remained clear in insisting on total Israeli withdrawal from all occupied territories. Dr Ghaleb told reporters at the end of two-hour talks with the United Nations envoy that the discussions were merely “exploratory” in nature and could not be regarded as a “resumption of die Jarring peace mission.”