Secretary Kissinger arrived in Jerusalem on 13 February after visiting Cairo and Damascus. In the meeting with the Israeli negotiating team, consisting of Prime Minister Rabin, Foreign Minister Allon and Defence Minister Peres, it was agreed that a round of shuttle diplomacy could start in the middle of March 1975. At the conclusion of the meeting, the two ministers made the following remarks:
Secretary Kissinger:
I wanted to report to you that the Israeli negotiating team and my colleagues and I had a very good and constructive session this evening. I reported to the Israeli negotiating team about my visits to Cairo and Damascus. I did not bring as a result of these visits any concrete proposals, plans, or lines but, rather, a continuation of the considerations that were part of my exploratory mission.
I plan to return to the Middle East by the middle of March, and I will meet again with the Israeli negotiating team tomorrow morning to prepare this next visit. The talks were conducted in a very friendly atmosphere, and I consider them fruitful and positive.
Foreign Minister Allon:
I would like to thank the Secretary of State for the candor and open way in which he reported to us about his impressions from his recent visits to Cairo and Damascus. May I remind you that when I came back from Washington, I expressed my hope that the Secretary of State would be visiting the Middle East around these dates and this trip has been carried out. And I also expressed my hopes that as a result of his exploration in this short visit he will find it necessary and desirable to come again for a further effort in order to achieve political progress.
I am very glad that Dr. Kissinger found it possible to promise another visit to this part of the world. Thank you for that, too.