Is Anyone Out There Listening?

By William E. Smith

Haig talks to Gromyko, Begin and Mubarak, who talk back

No sooner had he set forth on his quick trip to Europe and the Middle East last week than U.S. Secretary of State Alexander Haig tipped his hand. During his first stopover, in Geneva, he told the world that he would tell Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko of the "outrage" felt by the U.S. over the Soviet-backed crackdown in Poland. The poker-faced Gromyko, who in his time has dealt with eight American Secretaries of State, responded that he had "absolutely no intention" of discussing Poland. The meeting promised, as Haig then observed, to be a "very short" one.

Yet the Haig-Gromyko confrontation lasted for eight hours, twice the amount of time originally scheduled. The two men, accompanied only by their interpreters, did in fact speak extensively of Poland, but as Haig said later, "Poland cast a long, dark shadow over all the discussions involving East-West relations." The U.S. believes that there must inevitably be a link between the state of affairs in Poland and Soviet behavior in other parts of the world (see following story). Thus, in the U.S. view, the Polish situation makes it impossible to announce the beginning of Strategic Arms Reduction Talks (START) with the Soviet Union. "President Reagan is very anxious to get on with the START talks," said Haig. "But the political backdrop under which these talks are to be conducted has an important impact on any hopes for progress and success."

During the meeting, Haig complained to Gromyko about the continuing Soviet buildup in Afghanistan, and about Cuban involvement in Central America and southern Africa. The U.S. wants a Cuban withdrawal from Angola as part of a general settlement on Namibia (South West Africa). This subject, according to the Secretary of State, "occupied an extensive portion of our exchanges." In one important area, U.S. and Soviet interests seemed to coincide: continuing the month-old Geneva talks on intermediate-range theater nuclear weapons. But overall, said Haig, his discussions with Gromyko were "very sober." Gromyko, in turn, blamed the U.S. for blocking START. But when asked by a reporter if the cold war was returning, Gromyko smiled wanly and replied, "Not all is lost yet."

By and large, Western European governments seemed more pleased with the outcome of the Haig-Gromyko talks than did the participants. Reflecting a widespread relief that relations between the superpowers appeared to be ever so slightly improved, a West German newspaper declared: "At least they're talking to each other again." The Europeans were glad that the superpowers had committed themselves to a matter of primary European concern: the negotiations on theater nuclear weapons. Even the length of the talks gave the Europeans a bit of comfort. After all, remarked an Italian nuclear-arms expert, "if you only want to exchange insults, five minutes is enough."

At midweek Haig flew on to Jerusalem for his second visit within a fortnight. He spent a total of nearly seven hours with Prime Minister Menachem Begin, who is still recovering from a broken hip and moves about with the aid of a four-footed metal walker. Haig offered detailed suggestions about how to bring Israel and Egypt together on an autonomy plan for the Palestinians of the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. But Haig was no longer emphasizing the need for a "declaration of principles" by April 25, the deadline for Israel's final withdrawal from the occupied Sinai. Instead, he spoke of "very important differences" that will "require a great deal of work and time." In addition, he indicated that the time may have come to appoint a special envoy to represent him in the continuing negotiations. His candidate: Richard Fairbanks, 40, Assistant Secretary of State for Congressional Relations.

At the moment, the positions of Israel and Egypt remain far apart. On the question of whether the Arabs of East Jerusalem should have the right to vote in West Bank elections, the Egyptians say yes, the Israelis no. As for the administrative council of the autonomous entity, the Egyptians want it to be as large as a parliament, with 80 to 100 members. The Israelis want it to be as small as a Cabinet, with only 17 members. At last week's talks Haig suggested 32 to 36 as a compromise. Begin replied that 20 was the absolute maximum that Israel would tolerate.

Haig asked Begin why Israel would not end its program of building and expanding the Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Ignoring the resentment of local Palestinians for the 20,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank, Begin blandly described the Israeli "villages" as "bridges" of good will and understanding between Israelis and Arabs. On leaving Jerusalem, Haig concluded wearily that the outstanding issues are "extremely complex and difficult."

In Cairo, the Egyptian government gave Haig a reception that was correct but not exactly enthusiastic. In fact, the semiofficial newspaper Al Akbar greeted the Secretary's arrival with an editorial that asked, "Haig's Visit: Why?" and concluded that it was "excessive haste" that had brought him back to Cairo only 15 days after his previous visit.

Nonetheless, he met for an hour with President Hosni Mubarak, who is due to fly to Washington this week for his first state visit to the U.S. Mubarak listened to Haig's suggestions for reaching an autonomy agreement with the Israelis. But the Egyptian President firmly intends to bring an end to Egypt's isolation in the Arab world and is currently unwilling to sign any agreement that might jeopardize his standing with his Arab neighbors.

Haig then flew home, after a quick stop in London to see British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. He had little to show for a hard week's work, but he certainly had a renewed appreciation for the tangle of problems he faced. "It is important that we are seen to be serious on the subject of autonomy," he had said earlier. But to achieve an autonomy agreement any time soon will require a good deal more than that.

--By William E. Smith.

Reported by Gregory H. Wierzynski with Haig

With reporting by Gregory H. Wierzynski

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