Israel Says Soviets Offer to Renew Ties : Radio Reports Deal Hinges on Pullout From Golan Heights

Israeli Radio said today that the Soviet Union offered to renew diplomatic ties with Israel and allow unrestricted Jewish emigration in exchange for Israel’s withdrawal from Syria’s Golan Heights and an end to anti-Soviet propaganda.

The radio said Yuli Voronitsov, the Soviet ambassador to France, told Israel’s ambassador in Paris, Ovadia Sofer, this week that Moscow is ready to make a major change in its relations with Israel if the conditions are met.

An Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman who spoke on condition he not be identified confirmed that the two diplomats met, but refused to give any details.

In Moscow, Soviet Foreign Ministry spokesman Vladimir Lomeiko also confirmed that the two ambassadors met but declined to say what they discussed.

Policies at Issue

Lomeiko, however, appeared to deny the thrust of the Israeli Radio report, saying the re-establishment of Soviet relations with Israel “depends on what policy is pursued by Israel toward other states.”

He reiterated the Soviet view that Israel was guilty of aggression toward its neighbors and of the repression of Arab peoples.

“This question (of resuming diplomatic ties) is nothing to do with the question of emigration of Jewish people to Israel,” Lomeiko said.

The Soviet Union broke relations with Israel after the 1967 war in which Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria, a major Soviet ally in the Middle East.

Israeli Radio said Voronitsov described the breaking of relations as a serious mistake and an emotional reaction that had damaged the Soviet Union.

Demand Not Repeated

Previously, the Soviets have demanded that Israel withdraw from all territory it captured in 1967. The radio report made no mention of that demand.

Instead, it quoted Voronitsov as saying the Soviets expected Israel to make some move on the Golan Heights, which Israel annexed in 1981. The radio quoted Voronitsov as saying Israel would not have to make a complete withdrawal if it could make an agreement with Syria.

Jewish emigration from the Soviet Union was not directly affected by the break in relations, but has fallen from a peak of 51,000 in 1979 to fewer than 900 last year. There are about 2.5 million Jews in the Soviet Union.

All Overtures Checked

Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin said on Israeli Radio today that every suggestion for improved relations with Moscow “needs to be checked out.”

But Rabin expressed surprise at the Soviet demand for an end to anti-Soviet publicity, calling it a direct result of the Kremlin’s own restrictions on Jewish emigration.

“If the U.S.S.R. really wants to encourage the peace process,” Rabin added, “it must first resume diplomatic relations with Israel, and second, of course, it must get Syria to consent to peace negotiations.”