At the end of January, Secretary of State Kissinger was able to announce that enough progress had been made through diplomatic channels to warrant an exploratory trip by him to the region. Such a trip was undertaken in mid-February. Excerpts:
Q: Mr. Secretary, could you bring us up to date on the, diplomatic situation in the Middle East? Specifically, what are your travel plans? Secondly, do you think it's possible to reconcile Egypt's desire for further regaining of territory -in particular the passes and the oil fields which President Sadat referred to - with Israel's desire for further political acceptance by the Arabs?
A: First, I think you all recognize that we are dealing in the Middle East with an enormously delicate problem affecting the relations between Israel and its neighbors, the relations of Israel's neighbors to each other, and the relationship of outside powers to the whole area. And in this extremely complex and very dangerous situation, it is necessary for us to move with care, and hopefully, with some thoughtfulness.
My plans are within the next few weeks - and the precise date has not yet been set, but I hope to be able to announce it early next week - to go within the next few weeks on an exploratory trip to the Middle East. It will not be a trip designed to settle anything or to generate a shuttle diplomacy. It will be designed to have first-hand talks with all of the major participants - all of the Arab countries that I previously visited - as well as Israel in order to see what the real possibilities of a solution might be.
I personally believe that the two interests - which you correctly defined - of Egypt for the return of some territory and of Israel for some progress towards peace, can be reconciled. And I believe also that the alternative to reconciling it will be serious for all of the parties concerned.
Q: Mr. Secretary, I have a question I would like to follow up on your first reply on the Middle East. In that reply, you said that you believe the Egyptian desire for additional territory in Sinai, together with the Israeli desire for specific political concessions, can be reconciled. I understood that you probably don't want to get into the specific demands that Israel is asking from Egypt. But perhaps you can give us some general criteria for what types of political acts Egypt may offer to Israel that would satisfy Israel, and the second part of the question is - the questioner had specifically referred to the oil fields and the passes - were you referring to those specific points as possibly being reconciled?
A: I think all of you have to accept the fact that I cannot possibly go into the details of the negotiation before I have gone to the Middle East. And therefore, with all due respect, I cannot possibly answer this question.
Q: Mr. Secretary, along this line, but not asking you to go into any details of the negotiations, in your discussions with the Arab countries in the Middle East, have you found any evidence that the Arab world is prepared to accept the existence of Israel?
A: It is my impression that there is an increasing willingness to accept the existence of Israel as part of the process of peace, yes.