Mr. Shevardnadze was the first Soviet foreign minister to visit Egypt since 1975. In Cairo for high level talks with Egyptian and Israeli officials, he spoke of a three stage peace plan involving the five super powers under United Nations auspices, setting up a time table for the convening of an international conference under the United Nations. Israel reserved its reaction until after the 22 February meeting between Mr. Shevardnadze and Mr. Arens. Excerpts from press reports:
Moscow is ready to call for a ministerial meeting of the UN Security Council to prepare for the convening of an international Middle East peace conference, Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze said on Saturday. Shevardnadze, who is on a five-nation Middle East tour, spoke of three stages for his plan:
- Setting in motion the machinery of the Security Council by calling a special session at foreign minister level.
- Intensifying consultations among the five permanent members and setting up a preparatory body after consulting the parties concerned.
- The UN secretary-general could be engaged in other acceptable and flexible forms of constructive interaction among the parties concerned and a "deadline" could be set for the preparatory phase, limiting its duration to, say six or nine months.
He said that a settlement to the Arab-Israeli conflict should be based on a balance of interests of both the Arabs and Israel.
Shevardnadze did not say when the call would be made. Diplomats said this depended on the outcome of talks he will have this week with leaders of Jordan, Egypt and the PLO.
Shevardnadze's speech stressed that work for peace rather than war and confrontation should prevail in the region. He said he hoped that Israel would understand that security could not be achieved by keeping hold of the territories and southern Lebanon.