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MIDEAST
(Continued from page 16)
view, plus the possibility of a new
lsraeli government with its own
new ideas, Mr. Sadat felt com–
pelled at this time to "play his
European card" - that is, to take
his case to Europe.
In his address before the Euro–
pean Parliament, however, Presi–
dent Sadat was careful not to
write off Camp David.
" 1
have
not come here to sell out Camp
David," he told tbe assembly.
Instead, Mr. Sadat said that the
Camp David peace process is a
framework from which Europe in
its own Mideast initiative could
take steps that might lead to the
breaking of tbe current impasse.
The Egyptian President ex–
pressed hope that the European
ini tiative launched last June in
Vienna would not compete with ,..
Camp David, but rather be a
strategy compatible with the
basic principies set out in the
Camp David accords. He said the
United States should continue in
a full role.
Mr. Sadat emphasized that any
European effort should
supple–
ment
rather than
supplant
the
Camp David process.
"l
carne to
say to the Europeans: Let üs try
to
combine our efforts
toward
giving momentum to the peace
process," he stated.
Throughout his address, Mr.
Sadat repeatedly encouraged the
Europeans to bring fresh new
ideas to the slow-moving Camp
David process. He called on the
EEC to help persuade both Israel
and the Palestinians "to accept a
formula of mutual and simulta–
neous recognition."
On the subject of the Palestin–
ians, the Egyptian leader told the
Parliament: "Egypt urges you to
support their right to
self-determi~
nation and national dignity. This is
their God-given right that cannot
be denied under any circum–
stances." He stated that a Palestin–
ian entity "poses no threat to the
secur ity of Israel. In fact, it is the
best guarantee for it."
President Sadat noted that
"the establishment of a Palestin-
June
1
July 1981
ian entity, after a transitional
period, would be a positive devel–
opment to all countries in the
region." He said that the Pales–
tinian entity would be too pre–
occupied "with the task of recon–
struction and building bridges
with other nations" to be any
threat to Israel.
Peacekeeplng Troops
The Egyptian President also said
that Europe might make contri–
butions to guarantee any settle–
ment that might be reached. Spe–
cifically, he called for West Euro–
pean participation in a peac.e–
keeping force in the region.
" The Europeans could provide
a standing force under the aus–
pices of the United Nations to
make every party secure, both
Arabs and lsraelis," he suggested.
Europeans themselves have dis–
cussed the pos.sibil ity of dispatch–
ing peacekeeping troops to the
Middle East. Now they have an
invitation.
Regarding Jerusalem, Mr. Sa–
dat noted that the bitter contro–
versy that .has erupted over the
Holy City has proved the fallacy of
exclusive control. Israel claims all
of Jerusalem- including the Arab
sector- as its "eterna! capital."
Mr. Sadat declared that Jeru–
salem must be kept open to all
faithful, regardless of creed or
nationality. " I hereby urge you to
join us in a determined effort to
achieve such a goal," he told the
Parl iament.
Arab states- including Egypt
- do not recognize Jerusalem as
l srael's capital. A 37-nation
Islamic summit in Saudi Arabia
last J anuary called for a
jihad
or
"holy war" against Israel to
regain Arab sovereignty over
Jerusalem.
Key Events
President Sadat's message was
well received by the European
Parliament, which gave him a
standing ovation. His image as a
responsible international states–
man was considerably bolstered.
According to one European diplo–
mat: "lt was a signa! to [U.S.
President] Reagan that when he
meets Sadat this spring he won ' t
be talking to a mere protégé of
past American presidents but to a
major world leader in his own
right."
Major movement on the Euro–
pean ini tiative is expected begin–
ning in July, when three impor–
tant elements converge.
On June 30, Israel 's national
elections will be held to deter–
mine the fate of Prime Minister
Begin's government. A change of
government could lead to a modi–
fication of l srael's negotiating
stance, but it is too early to tell
precisely what new ideas might
be brought to the fore .
The following day, on July 1,
Britain's influential Foreign Sec–
r etary Lord Carri ngton- the
main architect of the European
initiative-· - takes over the presi-
' dency of the EEC Counci l of
Ministers. He is expected to be
chairman of the next round of
talks between the EEC foreign
ministers a nd the · Arab League.
British sources say that Lord Car–
rington also plans a formal meet–
ing with PLO leader Yassir Ara–
fat in the Mideast this year.
Finally, Was hington sources
expect that by mid-year the Rea–
gan Administ ration will have
decided on the details of its
Mideast policy. President Reagan
has yet to show how he will
approach the unfinished business
of Camp David.
Mideast Shuttles
Following his address in Luxem–
bourg, President Sadat was given
a red carpet reception in París.
There he had two days of talks
with French President Valery
Giscard d'Estaing, who has long
been cool toward Camp David.
President Sadat's visits to Lux–
embourg and France form only a
part of the picture of growing
European-Mideast contacts . Not
only has "Mohammed" gone to
the "mountain," the mountain
has also cometo Mohammed!
European politicians and diplo–
mats have been traveling to the
Middle East in increasing num–
bers. Since the start of the year,
dozens of officials from Common
Market countries and neighbor–
ing nations have been sh uttling
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