180. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in Algeria1
SUBJECT
- Letter From the Secretary to President Bendjedid
1. C—Entire text.
2. Please deliver the following letter from the Secretary to President Bendjedid. No/no signed original will follow.
3. Begin text.
Dear Mr. President:
The U.S. followed with interest the results of the extraordinary Arab summit you hosted June 7–9 in Algiers.2 In the wake of those deliberations, I wanted to share with you some thoughts about our ongoing efforts to achieve progress toward peace in the Middle East.
During my most recent visit to the region,3 the leaders I met with encouraged me to continue with the U.S. initiative. No one suggested the time had come to cease our undertaking. The Arab Summit itself left the door open to continued efforts on our part to achieve further progress.4 In this same spirit, I intend to persevere.
Our plan for achieving comprehensive peace rests solidly on the basis of UNSC Resolutions 242 and 338.5 All of Resolution 242’s provisions and principles—including its promise of exchange of territory for peace—will apply to each negotiation between Israel and its neighbors. The negotiations will be launched by an international conference that will facilitate rather than interfere, impose settlements, or veto agreements reached bilaterally.
Although the odds against a breakthrough remain high, the United States intends to keep moving forward. The plan we have advanced is realistic and workable. It can bring about negotiations; it can help achieve peace. Through this process, Palestinians will achieve their [Page 402] legitimate rights—including political rights—and will be able to enjoy lives of security, dignity, and freedom. Israelis will achieve the recognition and security which they deserve.
As the U.S. continues its efforts to promote peace in the Middle East, it also wishes to express its support and encouragement for the efforts being undertaken to increase cooperation among the states in North Africa, particularly the resumption of full diplomatic ties between Algeria and Morocco. The U.S. views positively regional arrangements that can help reduce tensions, enhance economic progress, and foster a climate in which peaceful resolution of disputes can move forward. The U.S. remains concerned, however, about the potential for regional destabilization posed by the regime of Colonel Qadhafi, and urges its friends in North Africa to exercise full vigilance in order to assure that constructive steps that have been taken toward the promotion of regional harmony not be undermined.
Mr. President, the United States looks forward to continued cooperation with you and with your government on a wide range of issues of mutual interest and concern. In the meantime, please accept my best personal regards, Sincerely yours, George P. Shultz. End text.
- Source: Department of State, Central Foreign Policy File, Electronic Telegrams, D880498–0177. Confidential; Immediate. Drafted by Kathleen Fitzpatrick (NEA/AFN); cleared by Djerejian, Edward Walker and Ussery, Kirby, Casey, Peter Eicher (NEA/EGY), Eastham, Lynn Pascoe (S/S), Hill, and David Trotter (S/S–O); approved by Shultz. Sent for information to Rabat and Tunis.↩
- A wrap-up the summit’s proceedings, resolutions, and final communiqué are in telegram 3249 from Algiers, June 10. (Department of State, Central Foreign Policy File, Electronic Telegrams, D880498–0177) Documentation on the U.S. reaction to the summit is scheduled for publication in Foreign Relations, 1981–1988, vol. XIX, Arab-Israeli Dispute.↩
- Shultz traveled to the Middle East from June 3 until June 7 to discuss the Middle East peace process.↩
- See footnote 4, Document 111.↩
- See footnotes 5 and 6, Document 111.↩