AFTER A BRIEF DELAY TO RESOLVE SOME SEATING PROBLEMS, THE GENEVA PEACE CONFERENCE GOT UNDERWAY IN TWO PUBLIC SESSIONS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: Library of Congress
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): LOC-HAK-259-1-104-8
• Release Decision: RIPLIM
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: January 11, 2017
• Document Release Date: June 21, 2010
• Sequence Number: 104
• Publication Date: December 21, 1973
• Content Type: CABLE

No Objection to Declassification in Part 2010/06/21 : LOC-HAK-259-1-104-8
w
S E C R E T/SENSITIVE C DEC 73
MORI/CDF
003343573
HA KT
0 85 IMMEDIATE
FOR SCOWCROFT FROM SECRETARY
ON-FILE NSC RELEASE
INSTRUCTIONS APPLY
PLEAST PASS THE FOLLOWING TO THE PRESIDENT:
1. AFTER A BRIEF DELAY TO RESOLVE SOME SEATING PROBLEMS, THE GENEVA
PEACE CONFERENCE GOT UNDERWAY IN TWO PUBLIC SESSIONS IN WHICH THE
PRINCIPAL PARTICIPANTS -- EGYPT, JORDAN AND ISRAEL -- MADE PUBLIC
STATEMENTS LARGELY WITH. AN EYE TO PUBLIC CONSUMPTION AT HOME.
ON THE WHOLE, EACH STRUCK A POSTURE DESIGNED TO PROTECT HIMSELF --
EGYPT AGAINST THE CHARGE FROM SYRIA THAT IT MAY BE MOVING TOWARD AN
AGREEMENT SEPARATE FROM THE OTHER ARABS, JORDAN THAT IT IS LESS
ARAB THAN ITS BROTHERS, AND ISRAEL CONCILIATORY IN TONE BUT MAINTAINING
ITS SUBSTANTIVE POSITION IN THE FACE OF RIGHT WING ELECTION RHETORIC
AGAINST THE GENEVA CONFERENCE. TOMORROW THE CONFERENCE HAS ONE CLOSED
SESSION FOCUSSING ON THE ORGANIZATION OF ITS FUTURE WORK, AND IT IS
LIKELY THAT A SUB-GROUP WILL BE SET UP TO DEAL WITH THE QUESTION OF
MILITARY DISENGAGEMENT AND TO GIVE AT LEAST THE OUTWARD APPEARANCE
OF CONTINUING THE SESSION UNTIL THE PARTIES CAN GET DOWN TO SERIOUS
BUSINESS SHORTLY AFTER THE ISRAELI ELECTION.
2. ON THE SEATING ISSUE, ISRAEL PROVED BOTH RESAONABLE AND
FLEXIBLE. FAHMI (EGYPT), WHO OBVIOUSLY IS REFLECTING EGYPTIAN
CONCERN THAT IT MAY BE EXPOSED HERE IN GENEVA DUE TO SYRIAN FAILURE
TO PARTICIPATE, INSISTED ON SEATING ARRANGEMENTS WHICH AVOIDED THEIR
BEING NEXT TO THE ISRAELIS AND THE SOVIET UNION AS WOULD HAVE BEEN THE
CASE IF THE NORMAL UN ALPHABETI
CAL SEATING PRACTICE HAD BEEN FOLLOWED.
THE EGYPTIAN ALTERNATE PLAN WOULD HAVE THE JORDANIANS SEATED NEXT TO
THE ISRAELIS, BUT PRIME MINISTER RIFAI, WHO REFLECTS KING HUESSEIN'S
SUSPICION OF EGYPTIANS, TOOK THE VIEW THAT HE WAS NOT GOING TO
PERMIT HIMSELF TO BE USED BY THE EGYPTIANS IN THIS REGARD. AFTER
A ROUND OF TALKS I HAD BEFORE THE CONFERENCE OPENED WITH WALDHEIM,
GROMYKO AND FAHMI, THE ISSUE WAS RESOLVED WITH THE US BEING SEATED
BETWEEN EGYPT AND JORDAN, AND THE SOVIETS BEING SEATED BETWEEN THE
ISRAELIS AND THE EMPTY SYRIAN PLACE AT THE S
E WEN-SIDED TABLE.
3. AT THE CONFERENCE ITSELF, WALDHEIM, WHO CHAIRED REASONABLY WELL,
OPENED THE PROCEEDINGS WITH A BRIEF NON-SUBSTANTIVE, TEN-MINUTE SPEECH
DESCRIBING THE UN ROLE IN AN ENTIRELY ACCEPT
B
A
A
LE W
Y. THERE WERE NO
NEW SURPRISES IN THE PUBLIC STATEMENTS OF ANY OF THE PARTICIPANTS.
4. GROMYKO GAVE A SHORT AND RELATIVELY RESTRAINED SPEECH,
STATING STANDARD CRITICISM OF ISRAEL AND SUPPORTING THE ARAB POSITION
ON RETURN TO THE 1967 BORDERS. THE MOST SIGNIFICANT THING IN
GROMYKO'S SPEECH WAS THE EMPHASIS ON THE NEED TO ACCEPT ISRAELI
SOVEREIGNTY AND ITS RIGHT TO NATIONAL EXISTENCE. IN THIS CONNECTION,
AT EBAN'S REQUEST, I HAVE ARRANGED FOR HIM TO CALL ON GROMYKO, USING
THE GROUNDS THAT IS IS NORMAL AT CONFERENCES FOR PARTICIPANTS TO PAY
A COURTESY CALL ON THE CHAIRMEN.
5. I SPOKE NEXT AND IN MY BRIEF STATEMENT, I SOUGHT TO STRIKE
A NOTE OF ACCOMMODATION AND RECONCILIATION. STRESSING THE MAIN
QUESTION BEFORE US AT THIS HISTORICAL CONFERENCE -- HOW TO MOVE TO
PEACE -- I MADE FOUR PRINCIPAL POINTS IN THIS REGARD: THE NEED TO
MAINTAIN THE CEASEFIRE; SOME REALISTIC APPRECIATION OF WHAT CAN BE
ACCOMPLISHED IN A REASONABLE TIME FRAME; THE NEED FOR EARLY DIS-
ENGAGEMENT OF FORCES AS AN ESSENTIAL FIRST STEP; AND ABOVE ALL, THE
ESSENTIALITY OF REALISTIC NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN THE PARTIES THEMSELVES,
WHO WILL HAVE TO LIVE WITH THE RESULTS. I REITERATED YOUR COMMITMENT
TO A MAJOR EFFORT TO ACHIEVE A PEACEFUL SETTLEMENT, AND I DEVOTED
SOME PARAGRAPHS ON YOUR GENERA1 VnPrT 2M cnl f J All-vim-. ---
OF THE No Objection to Declassification in Part 2010/06/21: LOC-HAK-259-1-104-8 THE PLACE
 6. I WAS FOLLOWED BY EGYPTIAN FOREIGN MTNTSTFR F'AMMT , WHO WHILE
RE I No Objection to Declassification in Part 2010/06/21: LOC-HAK-259-1-104-8 aSING
LANGUAGE AND SHARPLY CRITICAL OF ISRAEL AT CERTAIN POINTS, YET KEPT
HIS REHTORIC WITHIN REASONABLE BOUNDS AND STRESSED FREQUENTLY THAT
THE EGYPTIAN OBJECTIVE IS A PEACEFUL SETTLEMENT RECOGNIZING THE
SOVEREIGNTY OF ALL STATES IN THE AREA. I HAD HAD A SESSION WITH
FAHMI IN THE MORNING AND WILL BE HAVING DINNER LATER WITH HIM THIS
EVENING s A-ND. i I=S- CLEAR. TO.'_ME_ WHAT -SA DA=T--H*S TAKEN A REAL I K I --_
COMING TO GENEVA, SINCE LACK OF PROGRESS WILL GIVE THE EXTREMIST,
SUCH AS THE HARDLINERS IN SYRIA AND THE MILITANT PALESTINIAN
ELEMENTS, A REAL OPPORTUNITY TO UNDERMINE HIM IF IN THE COMING WEEKS
WE CANNOT, ACHIEVE A SIGNIFICANT DISENGAGEMENT AGREEMENT. FAHMI FEELS
IT-IS EStENTI'AL THAT THE CONFERENCE BE AT LEAST,_POLI-TICALLY AND
JURIDICALLY IN SESSION AND THAT SOME-,KIND-OF WANK .GROUP SESSIONS BE
HELD NEXT WEEK ON ..THE-..Q-UEST'ION OF DISENGAGEMENT. QT' .ISE, HE. FEELS
THAT ECi.YPT ;=NOT_BE ABLE-T0--R'ETURN-TO-THE CONFERENCE TABLE4'IN JANUAR
I HAVE HER FFORE ASKED EBAN WHETHER IT WOULD BE POSSIBLE TO GET AN
ISRAELIS; MILITARY REPRESENTATIVE TO GENEVA SOMETIME NEXT WEEK, ON THE
UNDERSTANDING THAT THE EGYPTIANS APPRECIATE THAT DURING THIS LAST
WEEK BEFORE THE ISRAELI ELECTIONS, THEIR RESPECTIVE REPRESENTATIVES
WOULD LARGELY GO THROUGH THE MOTIONS. EBAN UNDERSTOOD AND SAID
HE WOULD UNDERTAKE TO TRY TO DO THIS. HE IS QUERYING JERUSALEM
ON THIS THIS EVENING.
7. JORDANIAN PRIME MINISTER ZAID RIFAI, OBVIOUSLY WITH AN EYE TO
PROTECTING HIS FLANK IN THE ARAB WORLD, GAVE A CONSIDERABLY MORE
HARDLINE SPEECH THAN FAHIMI, WITH REPEATED CHARGES AGAINST THE
ISRAELIS, AND WITH FEW OF THE REFERENCES TO THE NEED FOR PEACEFUL
SETTLEMENT WHICH WERE FOUND IN THE SPEECH OF THE EGYPTIAN FOREIGN
MINISTER. AT A LUNCHEON MEETING I HAD WITH HIM RIGHT AFTER THE
MONING SESSION, RIFAI EXPLAINED THAT THIS "WAS ALL POLITICS" IN THE
ARAB WORLD AND THAT IT SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY. I BELIEVE THE
ISRAELIS UNDERSTAND THIS, ALTHOUGH I EXPECT THAT ANY POSSIBLE
PROGRESS ON DISENGAGEMENT BETWEEN THE JORDANIANS AND ISRAELIS IS VERY
APT TO LAG BEHIND THE UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN THE EGYPTIANS AND
ISRAELIS. RIFAI TOLD ME IN OUR MEETING THAT WHAT HE WANTS FROM
ISRAEL IS A SMALL FOUR-KILOMETER SYMPOLIC MOVE AWAY FROM THE JORDAN
RIVER, WHERE THE PRESENT ISRAELI POSITIONS ARE LOCATED. HIS ARGUMENT
IS A VERY SIMPLE ONE: SUCH A FOUR-KILOMETER MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND
WOULD HAVE NO ADVERSE STRATEGIC IMPACT ON THE ISRAELI SITUATION, BUT
WOULD HAVE AN IMPORTANT POLITICAL IMPACT WHICH WOULD BE HELPFUL TO
THE JORDANIAN POSITION IN THE ARAB WORLD. IN THEIR VIEW IT
THEREFORE, SERVE ISRAELI AND JORDANIAN INTERESTS IN HELPING ASSURE
IN THE LONG RUN THAT HUSSEIN'S INFLUENCE IN THE WEST BANK WOULD BE
UPPERMOST RATHE THAN THE RADICAL PALESTINIAN ELEMENTS. WHILE THERE
MAY BE A CERTAIN LOGIC IN ALL THIS, I DOUBT THAT EVEN AFTER THE
ISRAELI ELECTIONS, SUCH AN IDEA WILL BE VERY ATTRACTIVE IN JERUSALEM.
I BELIEVE THAT ISRAELIS ARE MORE APT TO MOVE IN THE DIRECTION OF
DE FACTO RPT DE FACTO ARRANGEMENTS WITH THE JORDANIANS DESIGNED TO
CREATE AND STRENGTHEN HUSSEIN'S AUTHORITY IN THE WEST BANK,
PRIMARILY IN RETURNING JORDANIAN ADMINISTRATION TO VARIOUS CITIES IN
THE WEST BANK.
8. THE DAY'S PROCEEDINGS WERE WOUND UP BY EBAN'S SPEECH IN THE
AFTERNOON SESSj.ON. HI$' STATEMENT WAS PUNCTUATED WITH MANY OF
THE :ORAZORIICAT LOLURT HEST OR'rWR`ICH 9E HAS BECOME WORLD RENOWNED;. q ,
WHILE EXPRESSING SKEPTICISM REGAR94 . NG ARAB INTENTIONS, ;IT,.'WAS 4tEVER-
THELESS i1OD+ER .; LN TONE AND-.-AN EL?OQpENT PLEA FOR RECO`NCILIATIQN,
WHILE MAINTAINING A :V RYy,~-FIRM P
,~ ,p S,~.T,d]: I O N Q N ?:~'.g 1~_UBSTA.UCE a.~QFa,
SET,TL.F NT H E FORK SYRIA TD MAKE AVA LABL,E 11-S PO LIST.
9. WHILE THE. ATMOSPHERE COU.1...~D , V,OT j~F; CHARACTERIZED AS ONE OF
CghW IWIAP~T0N; ~`T, (E'- PARD't IS " I REt SAREF L; ,TO, Ka P.,. A1;irtBA.ORSfi OPEN.
TOMORROW,j54T-tJiE'-,CI:O'9-EDP: $SIf)N'; 'WE WILL ESTABLISH A WORK GROUP
AND THUS GET SOME MOVEMENT TOWARD DISCUSSION ON DISENGAGEMENT. IN
ORDER TO AVOID GIVING THE IMPRESSION THAT THE CONFERENCE HAS MET
BRIEFLY AND HAS SUSPENDED UNTIL EARLY JANUARY,.IT WILL FORMALLY
REMAIN IN`SESSION, AND BOTH WE.. AyD,,THE' 501 IE 5 :AS WELL AS THE PARTIES
WILL BE KEEPING ON HAND OUR RPEC .IV HE S,OF DELEGATIONS WHO WILL
HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO ENlA'G'E W F RT}?ER` lORMAL CONSULTATIONS.
10. FINALLY, YOUR STRATEGY I... WORKING" ELL. WE ARE THE ONLY
PARTICIPANT WHO IS IN CLOSE TOUYIT1i $LL.,THE PARTIES, THE ONLY POWER
THAT CAN PRODUCE PROGRESS, AND;' }O14L4Y ONE THAT EACH IS COMING TO
IN ORDER TO MAKE THAT PROGRESS.
S E C R E T/SENSITIVE
. No Objection to Declassification in Part 2010/06/21 : LOC-HAK-259-1-104-8