Middle East talks in U.S.

Press, 14 August 1978, Page 16

Middle East talks in U.S.

The American Secretary of State (Mr Vance) scored a personal triumph in persuading President Sadat of Egypt and Mr Begin, the Prime Minister of Israel, to come to the United States to take part in talks with President Carter. The United States has engaged in Middle East negotiations before, but the tripartite meeting that is planned probably marks a change from a mediating role to something more active. President Sadat would like to hear American proposals for a Middle East settlement: Israel fears that American thinking may run against its own. The rest of the w’orld must hope that the meeting will take a few’ steps towards peace. Whenever the Middle East flares into war, the dangers of the war spreading to the whole world are raised.

Mr Vance, having got over hi/ initial elation, has said that the two sides are still far apart. The argument remains mostly about Israel’s occupation of land captured in the 1967 six-day war in the Golan Heights, Sinai, the West Bank (which includes Jerusalem), and the Gaza Strip. The Arab position is that the Palestinians have a right to establish an independent Palestinian State; the Israelis have recently offered limited autonomy and said that negotiations over their future should take

place after five years. A meeting of the Egyptian and Israeli Foreign Ministers in England recently made little progress. The meeting with Mr Carter is an attempt to keep up the momentum of talks begun after the November visit of President Sadat to Israel.

All three have a lot at stake in the talks. President Sadat desperately needs a settlement because the continued threat of war is straining Egypt’s economy; Mr Begin is fighting to retain the support of the United States on which he depends for both arms and money. President Carter is not in a strong political position at home and an outright success or failure would have a major influence on his standing. Considering the difficulties in making the two sides agree, it is a little surprising that President Carter has put his prestige so openly behind the talks. Mr Begin cannot be unmindful of the fact that President Carter badly wants the talks to succeed and will probably see the advantage in applying considerable pressure to make sure that they do. American support for the policies of Mr Begin has been eroding. Time is no longer on the side of anyone taking part in the talks. That fact alone should give the world more hope.