MIDDLE EAST TALKS Egypt calls for a quick solution

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33418, 27 December 1973, Page 9

MIDDLE EAST TALKS Egypt calls for a quick solution

PA.-Reuter—Copyright) CAIRO, December 26. Egypt has told America, Russia and the United Nations that she wants quick completion of the Geneva military talks on separation of Suez Canal front forces to allow the Middle East peace conference to begin a new phase.

Cairo's views have been conveyed by the Egyptian Foreign Minister (Mr Ismail Fahmy) to representatives of the two Super-Powers and the United Nations in Geneva.

Mr Fahmy, who led the Egyptian delegation at the first round of the Geneva conference, has delayed his return from Geneva to have further consultations before Egyptian and Israeli military representatives ' meet later today to discuss troop disengage- : ment. The Geneva conference hasp assigned a military commit-1 tee to settle the dispute on!' this issue, a key clause in the!: cease-fire agreement which!] Egypt and Israel signed on! November 11. Ii The talks will begin against (I the background of a concilia- 1 tory Arab move — relaxing!: the use of the “oil weapon”; to force total Israeli with- i drawal from occupied Arab!, territories. |i General Ensio Siilasvuojl the Finnish commander of], United Nations Emergency!] Forces sent to the Middle ; East to oversee the cease-firep in October’s Arab-Israeli war, I

I will preside over the dis-! ! engagement talks. General Siilasvuo arranged; and was chairman of a first! abortive effort last month at; I the Kilometre 101 mark on I ;the Cairo-Suez road to extri-l (cate Egyptian and Israeli] ! troops from positions they) occupied along the Suez; Canal when fighting stopped jin the 18-day war. I Israel controls a large (area on the West Bank of the Suez Canal, and a large (Egyptian army is on the East ißank. i Israel says the Egyptian I Third Army near the town of 'Suez is cut off from its supplies. I Egypt suspended the I original disengagement talks, j held in a windswept desert! tent, accusing the Israelis of’ stalling. ; The uneasy nature of the l existing truce was reflected !in an Israeli military com(munique reporting Christmas Day exchanges of small arms, ] artillery and mortar fire in (the Suez Canal area in which lan Israeli soldier was I wounded. I A brighter accompaniment

Tor the military talks came .from Kuwait, where the Oil ]Ministers of nine Arab coun- | tries yesterday announced they would start increasing production again next month instead of Cutting it back, and would ease restrictions on oil exports.

j Observers interpreted this unexpected gesture as reflecting real Arab optimism for | the Geneva peace talks — ! although a long statement (announcing the move made (no mention of Geneva at all. . Officials on both sides have said the participants in the (Geneva military talks will be the same as at the Kilometre 101 mark — Egypt, Israel and the United Nations. Soviet officials earlier argued that membership of the military working group should be open to all participants in the peace conference — including Russia and the United States. But Israel and the United States replied that its composition should be unchanged from the (Kilometre 101 talks. The issue was resolved in private consultations over the week-end between delegations and the U.N. officials. The United States and the Soviet Union are co-sponsors of the peace conference, although it is being held under United Nations auspices.

An Egyptian spokesman said yesterday that disengagement was strictly a military operation, and would serve as a test of Israeli intentions.

In Egypt’s view, he said, disengagement meant withdrawal of forces of both sides to a certain distance to ensure that the October ceasefire agreement would be effective, and that there should be security zones where United Nations’ forces would be stationed, and “buffer” zones to avoid surprise attacks.

Israeli proposals that troops of both sides should withdraw to positions they occupied before fighting broke out on October 6 was “out of the question,” the spokesman said. Israel’s delegates to the disengagement talks, MajorGeneral Mordechai Gur, military attache in Washington, and Colonel Dov Sion, son-in-law of the Israeli Defence Minister (General Moshe Dayan) were due to fly to Geneva this morning from Tel Aviv.

Their Egyptian counterparts, Brigadier Taha El Magdoub, aged 47, assistant Chief of Operations, and Colonel Ahmed Fouad Howeidy, aged 39, a former military attache in London, are already in Geneva.