Office of the Historian

268. Memorandum of Conversation1

Kent, England, July 18, 1978, 9:30 a.m.

SUBJECT

  • Talks—Middle East Peace Negotiations

PARTICIPANTS

  • U.S.
  • Secretary of State Vance
  • Ambassador Lewis
  • Israel
  • Foreign Minister Dayan
  • Attorney General Barak

The conversation opened with Dayan’s handing to the Secretary the written clarification in the form of a talking paper which had been prepared overnight to make precise the statements Dayan had made at the bilateral meeting the evening of July 17 (see text of this “non paper” in final section of memcon on meeting for July 17).2

Dayan reiterated that if the Israeli peace proposal were accepted the Israeli government would be ready to discuss the sovereignty issue at the end of the five years, although in his personal opinion the chances for acceptance of the Israeli proposal were obviously very poor.

The Secretary said he had talked with Foreign Minister Kamel last night.3 Kamel, he said, recognized some areas of commonality between the two proposals but he kept returning to the fundamental point that 242 requires Israeli withdrawal and that peace and security can only be obtained by relinquishing territory. Kamel is prepared, he said, to discuss the details of the two plans, but this thorny question of principle remains at the center for him.

Dayan said he would like to make one further point. If anyone wished to make a proposal for territorial compromise it should and will be discussed by the Israeli government. But such a proposal should be specific, it should state where the dividing partition line would be, and obviously it could not be merely a matter of “10 inches or so.” He does not personally believe partition is negotiable, but if the Arabs do be [Page 1205] lieve it is, they should spell out their proposals so that it can be seriously discussed.

Finally, Dayan asked whether Kamel would agree to holding further meetings after the Leeds talks. The Secretary replied that he did not yet know what would be proposed, but that he intended to pursue this matter privately with Kamel during the talks rather than bringing it up in the plenary sessions.

  1. Source: Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Staff Material, Middle East Subject File, Box 2, Arab-Israeli Peace Negotiations 1978: Volume II [II]. Secret; Nodis. Drafted by Lewis. The meeting took place at Leeds Castle.↩
  2. See Document 266.↩
  3. See Document 267.↩