Israeli Talks Achieved Nothing and Won’t Resume, Soviets Say : Moscow Comments Directly Contradict Jerusalem Views

The Soviet Union disputed Israel’s upbeat claims today and said their joint talks in Finland, the first official encounter between the two countries in 19 years, achieved nothing and ended abruptly without an agreement to resume bilateral contacts.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Gennady Gerasimov’s comments on Monday’s 90-minute talks in Helsinki directly contradicted Israel’s positive assessment of the discussions and the Israeli report that both sides agreed to future meetings.

Gerasimov, at a news conference, said: “We are not engaged in any negotiations with Israel. We had a preliminary meeting of two consular officials. . . . There are no plans for a continuation of this meeting.”

He also said: “We are not talking about establishing consular relations, and it is time we closed that question forever. I can only repeat that a preliminary meeting was held in Helsinki that resulted in nothing.”

He blamed the failure on Israel’s insistence on discussing Jewish emigration from the Soviet Union. He called the insistence “arrogant interference in the internal affairs of the Soviet Union and totally unjustifiable.”

‘Very Sharp and Tough’

In Helsinki, Israeli officials said they were surprised by the harsh Soviet appraisal.

A senior official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said of Gerasimov’s comments: “It is a very sharp and tough statement, even if they thought nothing was achieved.”

Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres, speaking in Netanya, Israel, today about the same time the Soviets said the talks achieved nothing, said the brief Soviet-Israeli meeting was significant simply because it occurred.

Peres said the session in the Finnish capital illustrated two things: “The Russians feel there’s a need to embark on a different policy, and the Russians are extremely preoccupied with the possible reaction by the Arab world.”

Asked whether the meeting’s brevity indicated failure, he said: “I wouldn’t judge the Helsinki talk in accordance with its duration. You may have a short talk and a good one. You may have a long one and a poor one.”

‘Small, Reluctant Step’

Peres said that the Soviets had made “a very small, reluctant step” toward Israel and that it is now up to the Kremlin to continue the contacts.

Gerasimov said Israel wants to send a consular delegation to the Soviet Union.

“But the point here is that there is no Israeli property on Soviet soil and no Israeli citizens living here,” Gerasimov said.

The Soviet Union has said it will not re-establish diplomatic ties, broken during the 1967 Six-Day Arab-Israeli War, unless Israel returns occupied lands to the Arabs, and Gerasimov reiterated that position.

“Probably people believe there was some backstage game going on (in Helsinki),” he said. “There was none and there won’t be.”