Jimmy Carter photo

Meeting With Prime Minister Menahem Begin of Israel White House Statement.

March 04, 1979

Over the past 4 days, the President and the Prime Minister, together with their advisers, have had 8 hours of intensive conversations. In a friendly, straight forward manner the two sides discussed the strategic situation in the Middle East and, in great depth, all the unresolved issues in the negotiations.

During the course of today's meetings, President Carter put forward suggestions designed to help resolve some of the outstanding differences between Egypt and Israel. Prime Minister Begin stated that he would seriously study these suggestions and consult with his colleagues.

In the meantime, President Carter will be in touch with President Sadat to review the situation in light of the American-Israeli discussions over the past few days.

The meeting today lasted 1 hour, 30 minutes. Those participating on the American side were: the President, the Vice President, Secretary of State Cyrus Vance, Secretary of Defense Harold Brown, the President's Assistant for National Security Affairs Zbigniew Brzezinski, White House Press Secretary Jody Powell, Ambassador Alfred Atherton, Assistant Secretary of State Harold Saunders, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Samuel Lewis, NSC staff member William Quandt, State Department Legal Adviser Herbert Hansell, and Adviser to the Secretary Edward Sanders.

Those participating on the Israeli side were: the Prime Minister, Israeli Ambassador to the United States Ephraim Evron, Director of the Prime Minister's Bureau Yehiel Kadishai, Military Secretary to the Prime Minister Brig. Gen. Ephraim Poran, Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Yehuda Blum, Legal Advisor, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Meir Rosenne, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Yehuda Avner, Press Secretary for the Prime Minister Dan Patir, and Minister of the Israeli Embassy Hanan Bar-On.

Jimmy Carter, Meeting With Prime Minister Menahem Begin of Israel White House Statement. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/249130

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