Shevardnadze to Tour Middle East in Quest for Peace

Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard A. Shevardnadze will begin a five-nation tour of the Middle East this week aimed at achieving a “tangible breakthrough” in settling the Arab-Israeli conflict, an official said.

Vadim Perfiliev, a Soviet Foreign Ministry spokesman, said Shevardnadze will visit Syria Feb. 17-19, Jordan on Feb. 19, Egypt, Feb. 20-22; Iraq, Feb. 23-25, and Iran, Feb. 25-27.

Shevardnadze’s visit is evidence of an increasing Soviet role in the Middle East.

According to Perfiliev, Shevardnadze’s trip “will take place in the framework of the Soviet Union’s consistent efforts to achieve a comprehensive and just settlement in the Middle East, taking into account the interests of all people involved.”

“We seek to attain a tangible breakthrough in settling this old conflict,” he said, without elaborating.

The Kremlin supports the idea of an international Middle East peace conference to be attended by the parties to the conflict, plus the United States, Soviet Union and other permanent members of the U.N. Security Council.

Israel has made restoration of Soviet-Israeli relations, severed by the Soviet Union in 1967, a precondition for a Soviet role in Mideast talks.

Jordan’s King Hussein said Sunday he was “quite optimistic” an international conference on Arab-Israeli peace could take place soon.

In response to a reporter’s question, Perfiliev said he does not know whether Shevardnadze will meet with Israeli Foreign Minister Moshe Arens or with Yasser Arafat, leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization. Israel has refused to take part in any negotiations involving the PLO.