Documents / FOIA release
This is a Central Intelligence Agency release of Foreign Broadcast Information Service coverage of the Middle East peace talks from December 1977. It collects British, Israeli and Soviet press and radio items on President as-Sadat's initiative and the planned Cairo conference. It also covers Prime Minister Begin's visit to London, Secretary of State Vance's regional tour and the Knesset debate on the peace plan. It contains no material on unidentified aerial phenomena.
“Cairo”42 pages
PPROVED FOR RELEASE CIA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS DIVISION AR 70-14 13NOV201 V. 27 Dec 77 D 17 EGYPT [As-Sadat] Well, for me it is not yet right but for sure we shall iue conside::ing our discussion and our meetings. As you have heard, there will be a committee here and a committee there, and gradually we shall be in a position to reach agreement upon all what you already said. (Begin] Mr Abie Nathan, I fear the day the president agrees to exchange sportsmen on both sides. Do something to strengthen our team of football. [laughter] [ Question] I am Hanna Zemer of the DAVAR, Tel Aviv. Maybe I should be allowed two questions instead of one question and one speech. May I ask, Mr President, in view of the differences which seem to emerge from your respective statements on the Pales- . tinian issue, be assured, do you envisage the possibility of a settlement or an agree- ment should let us say, on an interim basis being somewhat less than peace? [As-Sadat] I can't get you. What do you mean by agreement, interim agreement? [Question] What I meant is, in view of the differences that I thought emerged from your respective statements, do you feel that those differences have a very good chance to be overcome in the committees, and would you consider a settlement which is not full peace if you do not overcome those differences? [As-Sadat] The differences should be overcome in the committees. This is the fact. But the second part of your question? [Question] Do you believe you can overcome them, and is there a good chance to overcome them: [As-Sadat] For sure. [Question] You do not look for an alternative for a full peace treaty? [As-Sadat] I must tell you this: As I have already stated before the Knesset, this time we are not either for a disengagement agreement or partial agreement, like you said, to reach some stages and then postpone other steps after that. No, this time we are for peace, genuine peace, comprehensive settlement. [Begin] May I answer Mrs Hanna Zemer? As the president and I agreed that there is no alternative to peace. [Question] Thank you very much. May I ask then a very short question? Mr President, we have encountered very much kindness and friendliness by our colleagues here and by the people of Egypt whom we met on the streets. Some of our journalists have been here for a couple of weeks. They all say the same thing. And in view of this very abrupt change from enmity and distrust to friendliness and to trust, how do you explain this abrupt switch, and is it not sort of inexplicable and does it not arouse a fear that you can reverse by a push of the button the same thing, the same process? [As-Sadat] Well, let me tell you this. It is not abrupt. It has been in the subcon- sciousness of all of us. When I made my step I, in my calculations, really I knew that my people will agree to it, but I never thought that they will go to this extent. It is a natural feeling, and there is no fear at all of a revival of any, I mean, anything that has happened in the past.
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FOIA release, from the cia-readingroom collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 65 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.