A day later, at a press conference, President Carter announced that Mr. Begin has accepted his invitation and will arrive in Washington on 1 March for talks. The next step would be another tripartite summit conference. The President's opening remarks and some questions and answers follow:
The President. In my two years as President, I've spent more time and invested more of my personal effort in the search for peace in the Middle East than any other international problem. That investment of time was, and is, appropriate because of the great importance of peace in that region to our own country, and the vital importance of a Peace Agreement between Israel and Egypt to those two countries.
Some progress was made in the talks at Camp David last week - four and a half days of talks. I do not share the opinion that the proposals that we put forward were contrary to the Camp David Agreements of last September or that they would make an Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty meaningless. Based upon the developments of last week and the recommendations of all the parties involved, I had hoped to be able to convene without delay negotiations at a level which would permit the early conclusion of a Peace Treaty I'm concerned about the impact of this development upon the prospects for peace. However, it was the belief of all those at Camp David, Secretary Vance and all the negotiators from Israel and Egypt, that the conclusion of an Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty is an urgent necessity. I share that view completely. If we allow the prospects for peace that seemed so bright last September when we came back from Camp David to continue to dim and perhaps even to die, the future at best is unpredictable. If we allow that hope to vanish, then the judgement of history and of our own children will of necessity, and rightly, condemn us for an absence of concerted effort.
For that reason, I spoke personally this afternoon with Prime Minister Begin and with President Sadat. I've invited Prime Minister Begin to join me as soon as possible for a frank discussion of all the issues involved. I'm hopeful that these talks will lead to an early resumption of direct negotiations. Prime Minister Begin has accepted my invitation. He will be arriving here Thursday evening for discussions with me. I will then consider asking either Prime Minister Khalil or President Sadat to join in further discussions.
I recognize that the public interest in this matter is intense. However, I have made it clear in the past that any premature public discussions of these very sensitive issues serve no useful purpose. For that reason, I will have no further comments to make on the Mid East peace negotiations this afternoon.
Q. I really think you should answer a couple of questions. One, are you saying that Camp David is back on track or you are trying to get it on, and, also, were you led to believe by your own advisers, or by the Israeli officials, that Begin would come, or did you labour under some false assumption on your part?
A. I won't have any questions to answer on that subject. I think Fve covered it adequately and Prime Minister Begin is making a simultaneous announcement in Israel and I don't think it could be constructive for me to answer any questions.
Q. In view of the fact that we have some arrangement to support Israel in the event they have oil shortages, do you view Iran's lack of desire to supply oil to Israel as creating problems for us, in terms of our support for Israel in securing secondary sources of oil.
A. When the supply of Iranian oil to Israel was interrupted, I immediately notified Prime Minister Begin and the Israeli Government that we would honor our commitment to them. So far the Israelis have been able to acquire oil from other sources, in the Sinai and also on the world market from different countries. We will honor that commitment. I think that the total Israeli oil consumption is only about one percent of the consumption in the United States. So even if Israel should have to depend on us for a substantial portion of their oil, we would supply that oil from our own country or from sources in other nations without disruption of the American economy.