PRIMAKOV REBUFFED IN ISRAEL.

During talks with Israeli prime minister Shimon Peres in Jerusalem April 21, Russian foreign minister Yevgeny Primakov was told that Israel was committed to U.S. mediation in the settlement of the Lebanon conflict and that Peres preferred "efforts in this direction to be concentrated in single hands." The Israeli prime minister also accused Iran of aiding "terrorist organizations" which are undermining the Mideast peace process and admonished Primakov for seemingly trusting Iran’s declared willingness to promote normalization in Lebanon. Primakov had offered Moscow’s services in the effort to mediate a cease-fire in Lebanon. (Itar-Tass, April 22) Meanwhile, U.S. officials said April 22 that they were briefing Primakov on the results of talks between U.S. secretary of state Warren Christopher and Mideast leaders. But they suggested that the urgency of the crisis in the region, which comes in the lead-up to Israeli’s May 29 election, compelled them to freeze France, Russia, and the European Union out of the negotiation process. (New York Times, April 22)

Communist Leader Interviewed on Russian TV.