Visit of President Sadat of Egypt White House Statement Issued Following Meetings.

President Sadat and President Carter have completed 2 days of extensive talks at Camp David in which they considered carefully the further steps necessary to achieve a comprehensive peace settlement in the Middle East. They were joined for part of their talks on Saturday on the Egyptian side by His Excellency Sayed Marei, Speaker, People's Assembly; His Excellency Hassan Ahmed Kamel, Director, Office of the President; His Excellency Mohamed Ibrahim Kamel, Minister of Foreign Affairs; His Excellency Ashraf Ghorbal, Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt; and Mr. Ahmed Maheral-Sayed, Director of the Foreign Minister's Cabinet; and on the American side by Vice President Mondale; Secretary of State Cyrus Vance; Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski, National Security Adviser to the President; Ambassador Hermann Eilts, U.S. Ambassador to Egypt; Assistant Secretary Alfred L. Atherton; and William Quandt, member of the National Security Council staff.

President Carter reaffirmed his conviction that the events set in train by President Sadat's initiative in going to Jerusalem have, after decades of conflict, opened the prospect of real peace in the Middle East. The two Presidents are agreed that no obstacles must be allowed to prevent the achievement of a just and lasting settlement. They believe that an important beginning has been made in breaking through the psychological barriers to peace between Arabs and Israelis and that unremitting efforts must continue to overcome the remaining legacy of mistrust resulting from 30 years of conflict. Recognizing the overriding importance of peace to the future of the Middle East and its peoples, they stressed the importance of maintaining the negotiating momentum generated over the past few months. Both Presidents recognized that their efforts in the cause of peace will be of fundamental importance not only for the immediate future but for generations to come. Their overriding conviction is that a peaceful solution must be found to spare the people of the Middle East the agony of another war.

As a result of their extensive talks, President Carter feels that he has a better understanding of President Sadat's concerns about the need for the peace process to move forward without delay. He also took the occasion of these talks to explain in detail to President Sadat how the United States envisages its role and responsibilities in the peace process as a friend of both sides with a strong interest in peace and stability in the region. President Carter reaffirmed the commitment of the United States to play an active role in the search for peace and to redouble its efforts to ensure that progress is made in the weeks ahead.

In the course of their long discussions, President Sadat and President Carter reviewed the reasons for the slow pace of progress and the factors which have hampered the achievement of substantive agreement. They found themselves in accord that efforts should remain focused on creating conditions which are conducive to the achievement of tangible results and the broadening of negotiations, looking toward the realization of a comprehensive settlement. To this end, the two Presidents examined ways in which these objectives can be accomplished. They will further refine their views in the exchanges between their representatives over the next few days, as well as in their final meeting on Wednesday.

As part of their effort to continue the peace process, the two Presidents agreed that Assistant Secretary Atherton should return to the area in the near future to continue the work that has been under way, looking toward completion of a declaration of principles. They view such a declaration as an important step in establishing the framework for comprehensive peace in the area.

The two Presidents also discussed other issues of mutual concern to Egypt and the United States, such as the dangerous situation in the Horn of Africa.

Both President Sadat and President Carter expressed their satisfaction that the Camp David meetings had provided the opportunity for such thorough and fruitful examination of all aspects of the Middle East problem and had created a basis of mutual understanding and agreement for the continuing cooperation of their two governments in the search for peace.