Lebanese Govt drops airport peace talks

Press, 21 October 1983, Page 6

Lebanese Govt drops airport peace talks

NZPA-Reuter Beirut The Lebanese Government dropped plans to hold a national reconciliation conference yesteray at Beirut airport after all but one of the opposition politicians invited refused to turn

up. An official announcement said the talks, already delayed for over three weeks by arguments over the site, would take place at a date to be fixed later. Intensive negotiations to find a new site were under way, it added.

Two members of the proSyrian National Salvation Front of three key opposition figures said a meeting at the airport was out of the question for security reasons.

The Druse leader, Walid Jumblatt, the main opposition figure, has suggested Geneva, Tunis or a Greek ship in Lebanese waters. He said that the airport was unsafe because of the recent sniping in the area, much of it directed at United States Marine positions.

Meanwhile, President Ronald Reagan has accused Syria of blocking a Lebanese settlement and contributing to the violence that brought United States Marines and other international peace-keeping forces to Lebanon.

Mr Reagan’s strong criticism of Syria at a news conference yesterday was accompanied -by a warning to Iran not to carry out threats to blockade the

Strait of Hormuz at the entrance to the Gulfs vital oil route. He said that the West would not tolerate any blockade and refused to rule out the use of military force if Iran carried out its threats.

Mr Reagan said he believed the Soviet Union eventually would negotiate seriously at the Geneva missile talks because, he said, it recognised that he was determined to start deploying new medium-range missiles in western Europe unless an agreement to eliminate all such weapons there was reached.

On Central America, he appeared to indirectly approve attacks by anti-San-dinist rebels on oil facilities in Leftist Nicaragua.