Shultz Says He Won’t Abandon Mideast Effort

Secretary of State George P. Shultz said Saturday that he will not abandon his Middle East peace effort even if his proposal is rejected by both Israelis and Arabs.

Shultz, who flies to Israel today for a second round of shuttle diplomacy, said he is convinced that the leaders of Israel and its Arab adversaries want peace and stability, although there is no agreement on how that could be achieved.

Asked at a press conference if the trip to Israel, Jordan, Syria, Egypt and Saudi Arabia--his sec-ond to the region in a month--marks the end of the line unless substantial progress is made, Shultz replied:

“We will keep working for peace and we don’t expect to give up on this. I feel it in my bones that there is an answer (to the Arab-Israeli conflict) out there, if you can only find it.”

He added: “If I didn’t feel that there was an answer possible, I guess I wouldn’t have the energy to keep going with this. But I’m convinced from my discussions (with Arab and Israeli leaders) that there is an answer there that can work, but we have to find it.

“We expect to make a little headway,” he said. “You measure it in small increments.”

Shultz’s latest trip is scheduled to continue through Friday.

He has stopped in Rome for 2 1/2 days on the way to the Middle East. On Friday, he conferred with officials of Italy’s caretaker government, and Saturday he attended an audience with Pope John Paul II.

Shultz and his party are scheduled to attend Easter Mass at St. Peter’s Square today. Shultz’s wife, Helena, is a devout Roman Catholic.

U.S., Italian and Vatican officials all said that Shultz discussed his Middle East proposal with both the Pope and Italian leaders.

Asked if Italy or the Vatican--both of which enjoy warm relations with Arabs, including the Palestinians--had a role to play in the Middle East, Shultz said, “As they may have contacts with others who come here or as they travel, I hope they will listen carefully and try to encourage support for what we are doing.

‘Very Warm Support’

“What I found was very warm support for the efforts that we are making and readiness to help in any way they can,” he added.

The Shultz plan calls for an international conference to be attended by the United States, the Soviet Union, Britain, France, China, Israel and the Arab parties to the conflict. The conference would have no power to impose solutions or to veto any arrangement negotiated by Israel with any of the Arab states.

Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir has made it clear that he opposes any sort of international conference, even one with no real power.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has expressed support for the plan, but the other Arab parties are openly skeptical.