150. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in Egypt1
277051. Subject: Message for Sadat.
1. Please see Sadat as soon as possible to convey the following.
2. President Carter appreciated the opportunity to talk with President Sadat on the telephone today.2 In particular he wishes to affirm once again the assurance he made then that Sadat has the full support of the United States in his current effort for peace.
3. On one point in his conversation the President is not certain he made himself fully understood to President Sadat. The President’s concern is that Sadat’s visit result in some tangible benefit for the Syrians so as to reaffirm our commitment to the concept of negotiations among all the parties at Geneva. What the President is suggesting is that Sadat endeavor to obtain Begin’s agreement to include Syria, in addition to Egypt, Jordan, Israel and the Palestinians, in the conference working group that would be set up to discuss the West Bank and Gaza.
4. Since the President was not certain that his telephone conversation had enabled him to convey this suggestion in sufficient clarity, he is asking Ambassador Eilts to clarify the point orally with President Sadat.
- Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, P850052–2243. Secret; Immediate; Nodis. Drafted by Sterner; cleared by Atherton, Habib, Quandt, and Sydney Goldsmith (S/S–O); and approved by Secretary Vance. Repeated immediate on November 19 to the White House.↩
- According to the President’s Daily Diary, Carter spoke by phone with Sadat on November 18 from 8:25 to 8:32 a.m. (Carter Library, Presidential Materials, President’s Daily Diary) No memorandum of telephone conversation has been found. In his diary, Carter wrote, “There’s increasing pressure on Sadat from the Arab countries not to go to Israel, but there’s no doubt that he’s going. I called to give him my encouragement, my admiration.” (White House Diary, p. 138)↩