Israel’s Peres, Egyptians Push for Peace Talks

Foreign Minister Shimon Peres of Israel and Egyptian leaders said today that they have agreed to push for an international conference before the end of the year to discuss Middle East peace prospects.

The commitment came in a joint statement read after Peres held an unplanned hourlong meeting with President Hosni Mubarak early today at a presidential villa along the Nile River north of Cairo. Peres said the meeting, their second in two days, was “very warm and very constructive.”

The statement reaffirmed for the second time in five months that Peres and the Egyptians favor holding a broad-based conference to discuss differences between Israel and the Arabs. The first time was in Alexandria, Egypt, last September, when Peres, as prime minister, committed Israel to the idea.

Unlike today’s accord, however, the September agreement was not in writing.

The proposal is likely to run into roadblocks, not least from Yitzhak Shamir, who succeeded Peres as prime minister last October.

Jordan Backing Necessary

Jordanian support would also be needed to give muscle to an Egyptian-Israeli accord on the framework for such a conference. Jordan is Israel’s eastern neighbor and Egypt’s closest Arab friend.

Both the United States and the 12-member European Common Market have said they support an international conference.

Shamir, Peres’ rival and partner in Israel’s coalition government, opposes Israeli participation in such a meeting. He fears that the Jewish state would be ganged up on and isolated. Shamir has warned that he might be willing to bring down the government over the issue.

Apparently in an effort to appease Shamir and his allies, Peres stressed today that he and the Egyptians agreed that a broad-based conference would be intended to pave the way for the direct negotiations favored by Shamir.