Both leaders agreed that the next move in the direction of peace in the Middle East should be the reconvening of the Geneva Peace Conference in October. Their talks focused on the procedural aspects of such a conference. Even though Secretary of State Vance was scheduled to visit the Middle East long before the elections in Israel, it was decided that his visit, in the month of August, would be used to reach an agreement on the working of a Geneva Conference. Following are replies of the President to questions after his second meeting with Mr. Begin:
Q. Mr. President, how did this morning's talks go?
A. They went very well. The Prime Minister is going to have a press conference later on today, but I don't think the meetings with him could have been any better, and I believe that we have laid the groundwork now, barring, some unforeseen difficulty, that will lead to the Geneva Conference in October.
Secretary Vance will be leaving the 1st of August to visit the Arab countries and also will visit Israel, and we believe that, based on my past discussions with Arab leaders and their desires, that the positions taken by Prime Minister Begin will lead to a convening of the Geneva Conference.
Q. You once said there was no use to go to Geneva if it were not going to succeed. What are its chances of success?
A. That is difficult to predict. Obviously there are still strong matters and differences that have to be resolved between the Arab and Israel leaders, but we have not found any of them to be so adamant in their positions that they are not eager for accommodation. I think they all see that the transcendent goal is peace.
They have all agreed that the basis for the negotiations themselves will be United Nations Resolutions 242 and 338.
They see that permanent peace is the prerequisite for accommodation, the definition of what will be done, and that territorial adjustments must be made.
There are obviously differences in how these territory questions should be resolved and they all recognize the difficulty of the Palestinian question. But they are all eager to meet now.
I believe I can say that accurately, and we see the Geneva Conference as being very likely, the format of it, the participation there. And although there are strong differences between the Arab and Israeli leaders on territories and the Palestinian question, they want to work it out.
Q. How do you find Prime Minister Begin as a personality to deal with?
A. I like him very much. As I said in my welcoming remarks, he is a man of courage and principle and I have found in my discussions with him that my assessment was accurate.
Q. Is he easy to get along with?
A. Yes.