Aziz to Discuss Peace Plan With Gorbachev

Iraq’s foreign minister will come to Moscow on Sunday to meet with President Mikhail S. Gorbachev as part of the Soviet effort to end the Persian Gulf War, Kremlin officials said today.

The visit by Foreign Minister Tarik Aziz would be the first to the Soviet capital by such a high-ranking Iraqi official since the war began Jan. 17.

The trip follows a Soviet envoy’s meeting Tuesday with Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, and a Soviet official said it was a sign that the Kremlin’s diplomatic initiative is bearing fruit.

Vitaly Ignatenko told reporters that the Aziz trip is intended “to continue the Soviet-Iraq contact.” He said Aziz will meet with Gorbachev the following day.

“The discussions in Baghdad give cause for hope,” Ignatenko said. He said the assessment was based on a telegram Kremlin envoy Yevgeny Primakov sent to Moscow about his talks with Hussein.

In another diplomatic move, German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher said today that Syria is ready to recognize Israel’s right to exist as part of a postwar order in the Middle East.

Syria is aware that the right of self-determination for Palestinians would mean that “Israel’s right to exist is recognized and secured,” Genscher told reporters after more than two hours of talks with the Syrian foreign minister, Farouk Sharaa.

Genscher said Syria wants to play a major role in the peace process.