Sadat: It’s up to Israel

Press, 20 February 1979, Page 8

Sadat: It’s up to Israel

NZPA-Reuter Cairo The Egyptian Prime Minister (Mr Mustapha Khalil) has left for Washington to restart, peace talks with Israel, with strict instructions not to make any concessions.

An Egyptian official said: “It is possible that President Carter may invite the leaders of Egypt and Israel for a summit meeting as there are political decisions that can only be taken by the Heads of State.”

The seven-man Egyptian delegation will have talks in London with the British Prime Minister (Mr James Callaghan) before flying on ready to resume peace negotiations with Israel at Camp David tomorrow. President Anwar Sadat has instructed the delegation to insist that a peace treaty with Israel be linked with a comprehensive Middle East settlement.

“This means a just settlement of the Palestinian question as a first step for settling all other problems between the Arab con-

frontation States and Israel,” 1 the source said. President Sadat told the i visiting United States i Defence Secretary (Mr Har- i old Brown) last Saturday that Egypt would make no | concessions during the forthcoming talks, and that it , was up to Israel to give : ground. ' The source said that ; Egypt would insist on a timetable for the establish- , ment of Palestinian self-rule in both the West Bank of ' Jordan and the Gaza Strip ' to coincide with steps for ) complete Israeli withdrawal from Sinai. Egypt would also insist on reviewing security arrangements in Sinai after a period , of five years and underline its existing defence com- 1 mitments to the Arab world. 1 The mass-circulation “AlAkhbar” newspaper said that ) Mr Brown’s visit to the region and a United States decision to supply Israel with more arms, might encourage Israel to modify its attitude at the Camp David talks. Syria has protested to the United States about Mr;

Brown’s visit to occupied Arab territories, which it said amounted to approval of the Israeli occupation, official sources have said. The United States Ambassador (Mr Talcott Seeley) was summoned to the Foreign Ministry, where Undersecretary Nasser Qaddour denounced the visit, according to the sources. Mr Brown promised: “We will do our part” to assure security for pro-Western countries in the Middle East as he ended his four-nation tour yesterday. He was seen off at Cairo Airport by the Egyptian Defence Minister (Mr Kamal Hassan Ali), who said Mr Brown’s three-day visit to Cairo had been “a success in all aspects.” United States officials in Mr Brown’s party reported that the Egyptian President (Mr Anwar Sadat) had won a commitment from Mr Brown to “favourably consider Egypt’s request for a wide variety of United States arms.” Mr Brown had visited Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and

Israel before visiting Egypt on his 10-day tour. His mission apparently defused a dispute between Egypt and Saudi Arabia over the Saudis paying for 50 United States-made jets for Egypt. They were to be delivered last November at a cost of about S4SOM. But the price tag for the planes, spare parts and training went up to S73OM and the Saudis balked. Now Saudi Arabia has agreed to pay $525M for a cut-down package, United States officials say. The Egyptian source quoted by the Egyptian news agency concerning the talks said President Carter probably would have to hold another summit meeting with Mr Sadat and the Israeli Prime Minister (Mr Menachem Begin) before a treaty could be signed. The Israeli Foreign Minister (Mr Moshe Dayan), who leads the Israeli team, also has said he expected a summit meeting later this year, either to sign a Camp David treaty or to deal with unresolved issues.