Soviet Jews Not on Agenda, Kremlin Says

The Soviet Union on Tuesday rejected Israeli plans to make Jewish emigration the main issue in next week’s first Soviet-Israeli negotiations in 19 years, saying the subject is not even on the agenda.

“Israel has stated that it is prepared to put the question of Soviet Jews on the front burner,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Gennady I. Gerasimov said at a news briefing.

“It should be noted that this goes far beyond the agreed agenda for the meeting,” he said. “The aim of this meeting is to discuss purely consular affairs, property interests.”

Two Soviet and two Israeli consular officials are scheduled to meet in Helsinki on Aug. 18-19 for their first formal negotiations since Moscow broke off diplomatic relations after the 1967 Middle East War.

‘We’re Not Surprised’

In Israel, the Foreign Ministry refused comment, but a senior official said Israel will raise the emigration issue as promised Sunday by Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres.

“We’re not surprised by this,” the Israeli official said. “It’s always been a Soviet position. The Israel delegation will raise the issue of Soviet Jewry at the talks.”

Israeli officials estimate that 400,000 Soviet Jews would like to emigrate, but the number permitted to leave has dropped from a high of 51,000 in 1979 to only a few hundred in the first half of this year.

Gerasimov said the meeting willmainly concern Soviet property left in Israel after the break in relations.

He said a successful meeting could lead to further talks in Tel Aviv but emphasized that the low-level talks do not mean the countries are restoring diplomatic relations.

‘Broader Interpretation’

“Some people have made a broader interpretation of these talks,” he said. “They are not a restoration of diplomatic relations. They are not a restoration of consular relations.”

Gerasimov said the “main question deals with Soviet property left in Israel.” Most property belongs to the Russian Orthodox Church and the czarist-era Russian-Palestinian Society.