Message to Secretary Shultz (Draft)

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Message to Secretary Shultz (Draft)

1. After attending the ASEAN Post Ministerial Conference, I visited Jordan, Syria, and Saudi Arabia. The goals of this visit to those Middle Eastern countries were the strengthening of bilateral relations with the three countries and the exchange of views with leaders of each country on such issues as the problem of peace in the Middle East and the Iran-Iraq conflict. I think that we were able to achieve the results we intended.

2. On this trip, I had meetings with the leaders of these three countries, as well as with PLO Chairman Arafat and Iraqi Foreign Minister Aziz, and spent a good deal of time in particular on the problem of peace in the Middle East. Through these exchanges of views, I understand all the more now the complexity of the problem of peace in the Middle East and the difficulty of resolving it. Once more, I express my respect for the efforts that the Secretary has spent for its resolution.

3. What made a particularly deep impression on this trip was, along with the leaders of each country having a strong hope for your country’s active role, their requesting that I make a strong appeal to your country. Chairman Arafat said that the PLO would continue to promote efforts at peace on the basis of the Amman agreement, whatever the price, that this was the last chance to realize peace, and that, if there were no positive response from the United States to this agreement, then great disorder would probably occur again in the Middle East.

4. Furthermore, there was a deep interest on the Arab side in an international conference. I, too, keenly felt the need for some form of international framework. On this point, Jordan’s Foreign Minister Masri said that the United States, Britain, and France, of course, and China, too, to some extent would probably support our thinking in an international conference, leaving the Soviet Union isolated and unable to exercise much influence. On the other hand, Foreign Minister Masri said, if we exclude the Soviet Union from the conference, we not only would not be able to obtain Syria’s indispensable cooperation to a true resolution of the problem, but the Soviets would seek to obstruct an international peace conference from the outside. In addition, the Syrian side, while expressing an extremely negative evaluation of the present move towards peace on the basis of the Hussein-Arafat agreement, said that the holding of an international conference is the only effective way to realize peace.

5. Regarding the Iran-Iraq conflict, all the leaders, while praising our country’s efforts, were pessimistic in their outlook for an early and peaceful settlement. Also, Iraqi Foreign Minister Aziz said that Iraq had halted its attacks against cities since June 15 in the hope that Iraq would strengthen its posture towards peace and was ready to negotiate with the Iranian side if Iran gave serious consideration to the Japanese package presented.

6. In addition, I have already conveyed via the Japanese Embassy in Washington the details on my appeal to the Syrian side concerning the problem of the release of the American hostages in Lebanon. In light of your country’s strong request, I have decided this time to send urgently a special message to the foreign ministers of Iran and Syria, asking them to make the utmost efforts for the release of the American hostages.

(End)