At the invitation of Prime Minister Manea Manescu, Mr. Begin spent six days in Rumania (25-30 August) in talks with the leaders of that country, including long sessions with President Nicolae Ceausescu. The talks focused on ways to get peace talks between Israel and Egypt going. Mr. Begin explained the position of Israel and stressed its readiness to make concessions in return for a true peace. The Rumanian President later met with President Sadat and conveyed the Israeli thinking to him. Both Prime Minister Begin and President Sadat later credited President Ceausescu with playing a vital role in making the Sadat visit to Jerusalem possible. Text of the statement follows:
At the invitation of Comrade Manea Manescu, Prime Minister of the Rumanian government, Menahem Begin, Prime Minister of the State of Israel paid an official visit to the Socialist Republic of Rumania from 25 to 30 August 1977. During the visit, the Israeli Prime Minister was accompanied by Mrs. Aliza Begin, as well as by Ephraim Evron, Director-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Yehiel Kadishai, Director of the office of the Prime Minister and by other officials.
Comrade Nicolae Ceausescu, President of the Socialist Republic of Rumania, received the Prime Minister of the State of Israel, Mr. Menahern Begin, with whom he had talks on some aspects of the bilateral relations, as well as some present day international problems, especially with regard to the settlement of the conflictual situation in the Middle East.
Expressing their known points of view, the two sides underlined the necessity of the establishment as soon as possible for a just and lasting peace in the Middle East. Both sides considered that although there were differences of opinions concerning the ways towards the settlement of the situation in the Middle East, it was essential to increase the efforts aiming at the instauration of a fair and durable peace in this area. Those differences of views in this matter should not affect the friendly relations between the two peoples.
Attending these talks were, on the Rumanian side, Comrades Manea Manescu, Prime Minister of the Rumanian Government, and Gheorghe Macovescu, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and on the Israeli side Ephraim Evron, Director-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Also present were Ion Covaci, Ambassador of Rumania to the State of Israel, and Shamai Kahana, Ambassador of Israel to Rumania.
The Prime Minister of the Rumanian government, Comrade Manea Manescu, and the Prime Minister of the State of Israel, Menahem Begin, held official talks which took place in a relaxed atmosphere of complete sincerity. During these talks a wide exchange of information was carried out on the present-day preoccupations of the two countries in the economic, social and political fields. The Rumanian and Israeli Prime Ministers also had prospects of bilateral relations in various fields of common interest as well as on some international issues.
It was agreed that further action should be taken for the development of relations on the bilateral and international levels, in fields of common interest.
The Prime Minister of the State of Israel, Menahem Begin, as well as the persons accompanying him visited social and cultural objectives in Bucharest and in the Brasov county. The Israel Prime Minister laid a wreath at the monument of the heroes of the struggle for the freedom of the people and homeland for socialism. The Prime Minister of the Rumanian government gave an official dinner in honour of the Prime Minister of the State of Israel.
At the conclusion of the visit, the Prime Minister Menahem Begin expressed sincere thanks to the Prime Minister Manea Manescu and to the Rumanian government for the reception afforded him during his official visit to Rumania.
The Prime Minister of the State of Israel invited the Prime Minister of the Rumanian government to pay an official visit to Israel. The invitation was accepted and the date of the visit is to be fixed subsequently through diplomatic channels.