Arabs equivocal on peace talks

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34128, 14 April 1976, Page 21

Arabs equivocal on peace talks

f.Vetv Zealand Press Association—Copyright) VIENNA, April 13. President Sadat of Egypt said yesterday that lack of agreement among his Arab colleagues has so far prevented the reconvening of the Geneva Peace Conference on the Middle East. United Press International reported.

President Sadat, who arrived in Vienna on Saturday for a private visit, made the statement to reporters between talks with the Austrian Chancellor (Mr Kreisky) on the middle-east situation. "The United States, Russia and Egypt are in full agreement that the Geneva conference should be reconvened," Mr Sadat said. “But some of my Arab colleagues have yet to take a clear stand. One day they say yes, next day they say no.”

Mr Sadat said the Geneva conference could be resumed even without immediate Palestinian participation. “We will do everything to bring the Palestinians to the Geneva conference right from the start,” he said. “But if this should not be possible, we think the conference could still be recon-, vened with the question of Palestinian participation as number one item on the agenda.” The President said a highranking Egyptian delegation will soon travel to China to seek delivers’ of spare parts formerly supplied by the Soviet Union before Egypt abrogated the Soviet-Egyp-tian friendship treaty.

The Israeli Prime Minister (Mr Rabin) says he is ready to meet any Arab leader immediately for peace talks, reports Reuter from Tel

In a wide-ranging interview published today in the army magazine, “Barna-; chane," and broadcast over Army Radio, Mr Rabin said the Israeli Government “considers its most important task the achievement of peace.”

“Unfortunately, the Arabs are not ready for a full peace because not a single Arab leader feels strong enough to enter into negotiations with us,” he stated. “I remain as always ready to meet any Arab leader immediately to talk . about either a full peace or termination of war agreement.” But he said a renewed Middle-East peace conferjence at Geneva “appears ;most unlikely at this stage" (because of a demand by the iSoviet Union and the Arabs i for the participation of the I Palestine Liberation Organlisation.

Israel regards the P.L.O. as a purely terrorist group and refuse to negotiate with it.