Meeting With Prime Minister Menahem Begin of Israel White House Statement Issued Following the First Meeting.

The President was happy to have the opportunity to welcome Prime Minister Begin again to the United States.

The Prime Minister and the President met privately for an hour, and subsequently others joined. The entire discussions lasted 2 hours. The President was able to hear firsthand from Prime Minister Begin his impressions and evaluations of the momentous events in the Middle East set in train by President Sadat's historic visit to Jerusalem and his reception by the people, parliament, and government of Israel.

All aspects of the current Middle East situation were discussed in the context of the search for a comprehensive peace.

Obviously, a particular focus was on the direct talks which have commenced between Egypt and Israel. The Prime Minister and the President discussed the most effective ways to continue the momentum and to turn to the broader goal of negotiating a comprehensive peace.

In this respect, the Prime Minister and the President discussed underlying principles which could guide future negotiations. The Prime Minister outlined proposals concerning the future relations between Egypt and Israel and a process for resolving the issue of Palestinian Arabs.

The President thanked the Prime Minister for his thoughts in both of these areas and promised to give them serious consideration.

The President told Prime Minister Begin that the United States is convinced that the course of direct negotiations on which Prime Minister Begin and President Sadat have embarked offers a unique opportunity for peace, We, of course, recognize that in these new circumstances the test of acceptability of the provisions of a negotiated settlement will lie in the judgments of those who will ultimately sign the peace treaties. The United States will continue to remain in the closest possible consultation with both sides in the effort to help them find common ground.

The President and the Prime Minister will meet again tomorrow evening at 7 p.m.