Mr. Secretary:
It is a great privilege for me to welcome you back on an extraordinarily difficult mission on behalf of the United States and the problems that are in the Middle East.
I know that you made a maximum effort. Unfortunately, for reasons beyond our control, it did not turn out the way we wanted it.
But let me say, the United States will continue to emphasize our desire to achieve a lasting peace in the Middle East by working with one country, other countries, and all countries.
It is in the national, as well as in the international interest that we do everything we can with the emphasis on peace. Although we have--on a temporary basis, hopefully--not achieved all that we had desired, I continue to be an optimist, that the good judgment, the wise decisions of all parties will result in the ultimate objective of peace in the Middle East and its ramifications on a worldwide basis.
Henry, would you like to add anything?
SECRETARY KISSINGER. Mr. President, I very much appreciate your greeting me here, as you sent me off from here.
The necessities that produced the mission continue, and the need for a lasting peace in the Middle East remains.
As the President pointed out, the United States remains ready to work with the parties, and other interested countries, to promote a peace of justice in the Middle East.
Thank you.
Note: The President spoke at 8:21 p.m. on the South Lawn at the White House following Secretary Kissinger's arrival by helicopter from Andrews Air Force Base.
The Secretary's return followed a suspension of negotiations between Egypt and Israel on mutual troop disengagement in the Sinai Peninsula.
Gerald R. Ford, Remarks Upon Secretary of State Kissinger's Return From the Middle East. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/257000
