U.S. welcomes Sinai decision

Press, 29 October 1981, Page 3

U.S. welcomes Sinai decision

NZPA Washington The United States State Department yesterday welcomed the New Zealand Government’s agreement in principle to make a contribution to the multi-national Sinai peace-keeping force.

An official' noted that it followed up similar decisions by Australia and a number of other countries and said the United States expected final agreement on the composition of the force within the next week. “We welcome the New Zealand decision, as we continue to feel that it is now more than ever critical that a credible international force be formed to oversee the provisions of the Camp David accords,” the official told NZPA. .

Fiji, Colombia, arid Uruguay have already announced a firm commitment to the force, which is expected to total 2000 to 2500 men. The force will be responsible for keeping the peace in the Sinai after Israel has withdrawn its troops from Egyptian territory in the region by April 1.

United States officials are privately confident that France, Britain, Italy, Australia, and. perhaps Canada and the Netherlands will soon announce a firm commitment to join the force. The Prime Minister (Mr Muldoon) said that criticism of the decision to support the Sinai peace-keeping force only exposed “abysmal ignorance.”

Attacking Tuesday's condemnation by the Leader of the Opposition (Mr Rowling) of the decision in principle to support the force, Mr Muldoon said Mr Rowling was showing “abysmal ignorance of the basic elements of foreign policy.”

“The Government's decision, and the force itself, have nothing to do with the affairs of the Government of Egypt. The multi-national force has nothing to do with the Rapid Deployment Force of the United States Government and this has been made quite clear by the Administration in Washington,” said Mr Muldoon.

The Government's approach had incorporated “a most careful review of our trade with the Middle East, as well as consultations with our allies," he said.