Prime Minister Begin spent three days in Aswan meeting with President Sadat and his senior officials. Two major agreements were reached in the course of the visit. The first dealt with the establishment of embassies and the second with the establishment of firm land, air, postal and telecommunications arrangements between the two countries. The talks also dealt with the security situation on the periphery of the Middle East and a possible joint Israeli-Egyptian strategy to deal with foreign threat. However, on key issues dealing with the autonomy and Jerusalem, the differences of opinions remained. Text:
President Sadat: We need more meetings to solve these differences. I myself, I thought that we can in this visit reach a directive for our Ministers, but still we have our differences upon key issues. But upon the normalization, let me tell you this: The normalization shall be carried out according to the Camp David by word and spirit also. For sure I would have liked that we could have made much progress, but we still have time; we still have another four months to agree upon the autonomy and upon what I have already raised - the Jerusalem question.
We have (come) now immediately after we visited a location where the real fight between man and nature for building the prosperity for my people here - I have shown my friend our efforts to reclaim the land and our hopes for the future to build prosperity, especially after we have laid, together with our friend President Carter, the cornerstone for peace - comprehensive peace in the area.
Let me seize this opportunity and ask my dear friend Prime Minister Begin to convey to the President of Israel and to the people of Israel all the very best wishes of my people for achievements and prosperity - and mine also. Thank you very much.
Prime Minister Begin: Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen of the press: I wish to express my deep gratitude to my dear friend President Sadat for his invitation. We had very important and interesting political talks about the area, the latest events and our bilateral problems. The President also enabled me to see - my family, my colleagues and myself - the marvels of the ancient Egyptian civilization, also the modern technology of the two dams at Aswan. And just before we arrived at this airfield we have seen reclamation of the desert for the first time in history, and I was deeply impressed by the work done - with brains and energy and devotion - which of course will continue, and the desert will blossom.
As the President said - and I agree with him - we have reached an important agreement, and we had our differences of opinion. The agreement concerns to bring into effect normalization of the relations between Egypt and Israel, in accordance with the peace treaty signed by us, and by President Carter as a witness, between, Egypt and Israel. In detail, as I may say, with the agreement of the President: On Sunday an Egyptian delegation will visit Israel, an Israeli delegation will visit Egypt, in order to find the proper buildings for the embassies and consulates and for the ambassadors, so that we can, in accordance with the peace treaty, upon reaching the interim withdrawal line, establish normal diplomatic and cultural relations; whereas a month later the ambassadors will come to the respective countries.
Secondly, there will be established points of crossing on land - at the suggestion of the President, by our Joint Military Committee - so that normal transport can start and continue between the two countries on land and sea and in the air. As the President told me at El-Arish - and President Sadat is a man of his word - from that date, it will be the 26th of January, the national airlines of both countries win start flights to each of the two countries. Postal services, telecommunications, telephone connections, etc. - again, on that date will be established.
We should recognize the importance of this agreement. Of course, it is a result of the peace which we reached and the treaty which we signed, and we honored (with) our signatures; as we have done since April the 26th until this very day - as we shall do in the future.
We also reviewed the situation in the area, and we paid special attention to the very tragic and unfortunate event in the intolerable invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union... (inaudible)... We have found that we have the same opinion. yes, differences of opinion were left. The President mentioned Jerusalem - on this issue we differ, as we already told you on other occasions. The President made a suggestion to me, which has two parts. First: that we reach an agreement on the full autonomy for the Palestinian Arabs - in our language, in Judea-Samaria - in the President's language, in the West Bank - and in the Gaza District; but that (we) implement it first in the Gaza District. This suggestion I will bring to my colleagues in the Cabinet for consideration, because I am in duty bound to bring it before my colleague members of the Government of Israel, and consult with them. And after we take a decision I will appropriately inform the President.
And now, may I invite my dear friend, President Sadat, to visit Israel, because now it is his turn - it's a kind of shuttle policy, in the most positive sense. And I do hope that the President will accept and soon will be our guest, and we shall receive him again, as I promised him before he came for the first time to Jerusalem - this is our ninth personal meeting since then - with great respect and deep cordiality. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.
Q: Mr. President, is there going to be linkage between the autonomy talks and the normalization?
Sadat: Before I answer this question, let me say this, that I am grateful for the invitation extended to me by my friend, the Prime Minister of Israel, and I accept it. As an answer to your question, all this is regulated in the Camp David Agreement, and you heard me say that we are heeding to every word of it, and not only every word, but the spirit also behind it.
Q: Mr. Prime Minister, you have just mentioned the necessity to reach agreement on autonomy during the coming four months. Do you think the progress you have done or you expect to do will be enough to encourage the Palestinians, and is the Israeli Government ready now to take measures to encourage the Palestinians to the negotiating table?
Begin: I believe, my friend, that the very idea of full autonomy for our neighbours, the Palestinian Arabs, in Judea-Samaria and the Gaza District is a novelty - it did not exist before. And this is the encouragement. We must be patient. I believe in time they will understand that this is a real change, that we can live together in peace, in human dignity and in liberty as we wish. We do hope that we shall reach an agreement, and I believe that both sides showed good will already, and we will do so also in the future.
Q: Both to Mr. President and Mr. Prime Minister: could you elaborate on the considerations involved in the Gaza Strip first approach, and the autonomy talks?
Sadat: Well, as the Prime Minister stated, it was a proposal from my side, because I quite agree with the Prime Minister's statement, that I have put this proposal; but first let us agree on the full autonomy for both sides, the Western Bank and the Gaza Strip, but let us start the implementation in Gaza. And this is because there is a certain responsibility attached to this problem. Gaza was under the Egyptian administration before '67, and we feel it is our duty, according to the full autonomy, to end the occupation and let them enjoy the full autonomy. This is what is behind my proposal.
Begin: I will leave out all the motives, on which there can be, again, different opinions. I only stated - and the President agreed with me - the very fact that the President made to me such a suggestion, in two parts - first, let us agree on the autonomy in Judea-Samaria and the Gaza District, and then the implementation will start in the Gaza District. This is a very serious problem to us, also from the point of view of the Camp David Agreement. From our point of view, it's not foreign land, as Judea and Samaria is not foreign land. Peoples called the land Palestine, historically it was called Eretz Israel; and, therefore, we have a deep interest in it and we have to consider very carefully any proposition - especially as it is a new idea, which I would say contradicts the Camp David Agreement, but is not written in the Agreement. Even such a change can only come into being when it is being agreed by both sides. And, therefore, the Cabinet of Israel will have very carefully to consider the suggestion of the President.
Q: Both for Mr. Begin and Mr. Sadat: After you finished poring over that map by the swimming pool the other day, did you come to any understanding or any agreement on any form of cooperation to counter the strategic problems posed by the invasion of Afghanistan?
Sadat: Well, let me tell you this: our main concern will always be to give momentum to the peace process, but I quite agree with the statement of the Prime Minister, that our views on what has taken place there in Afghanistan and what we face in the area are identical.
Begin: The invasion of Afghanistan is one of the most brutal acts carried out in our time. Some people liken it to the invasion of Czechoslovakia. It is not a proper comparison. Of course, the tragedy in Czechoslovakia is unforgettable -a nation tried to become free and then it was subjugated by the Warsaw Pact countries, by naked physical force. yet, Czechoslovakia was in the orbit of the Soviet Union, as everybody knows - not so Afghanistan. It's an independent country, an ancient independent country, a free people. It was invaded massively -probably there are already now more than 100,000 Soviet soldiers, probably thousands of tanks and guns. The Afghani people is a fighting people. The country is mountainous and rugged, and there is a resistance in those mountains. And we suppose that there will be resistance. The cities may be conquered, may be kept by naked force. Then if there is a question, of course logically, what country comes next? This time the Soviet Union invaded a country not by proxy, not with the help of the Cubans, but directly. They themselves sent by air and on land their independent forces to subjugate a free people. Therefore, it is the interest of all independent nations, not of the Afghanis themselves, in our time. Independence and liberty are indivisible and every nation that cherish independence should pay attention to it. We found, on the map, beside the map, that we have the same opinion on this very grave international problem.
Q: But have you agreed upon any form of cooperation to face this problem?
Begin: I think they will not ask us, Mr. President, with your permission to proclaim, urbi et orbi, on the microphone, details.
Q: President Sadat, will you support any American request of using Egyptian bases for their strategic needs?
Sadat: I have already declared that any situation arises on the Gulf, if any Arab state there, despite their positions and their stands against Egypt, I am ready to give facilities, but not bases.
Q: Mr. Prime Minister, in view of the peaceful situation, do you think that there can be progress on the negotiations concerning Jerusalem, and whether the present difficulties necessitate a summit conference with the participation of President Carter?
Begin: Well, there were some news in the press that there may be again a so-called summit conference, in which the President of the United States, President Sadat, and myself would take part. We never had, as we both know, any hints from the President of the United States that he is preparing invitations. Maybe it will come. We, of course, I hope I can say so also with the agreement of my friend, the President, that we would accept. However, we hope that we shall solve with our own endeavors the problems, the outstanding issues. And so we intend to do. Thank you.