MIDDLE EAST

HC Deb 29 March 1973 vol 853 cc1521-2

Q2. Sir Gilbert Longden

asked the Prime Minister if he will seek to make an early official visit to the Middle East.

The Prime Minister

I have at present no plans for such a visit.

Sir Gilbert Longden

Is my right hon. Friend aware that there is a feeling abroad that, all other agencies having patently failed, Her Majesty's Government, either alone or in collaboration with our Community partners, might act as a catalyst to bring the two sides together? Is he aware that the Arabs have at last conceded the right of Israel to exist but will not sit down and negotiate until she withdraws to her pre-1967 frontiers? Could my right hon. Friend not mediate?

The Prime Minister

The Foreign Ministers of the Community have been discussing this matter. At the moment they do not feel that the time is right to take a fresh initiative. I very much agree with my hon. Friend that the best means of trying to reach a solution would be by negotiation round a table. He is right that at the moment not all parties are prepared to do this. When meeting those concerned, I have always taken the opportunity to say that if either side is in doubt about the sincerity of the other the best way of testing the matter is to sit round a table.

Mr. Walters

Does my right hon. Friend agree that the most recent developments in Egypt show an increasing urgency for something to be done? Bearing in mind that Egypt responded favourably to the Jarring questionnaire and that the Soviet presence was thrown out of Egypt without much positive reply from the United States, could we not now put more pressure on the Americans to make them feel there is real urgency about getting a settlement in the immediate future?

The Prime Minister

I agree that there is a great degree of urgency here. The American administration is well aware of this and on my last visit to see President Nixon in Washington in February I discussed it with him. I do not think there is any doubt about the urgency of the need for action. What is difficult is to bring the parties concerned to the point where they negotiate.