Soviet-american cooperation and the future of the arab-israeli conflict

Soviet-American cooperation in defusing conflicts elsewhere--in Southern Africa, Southeast Asia, Central America, and Afghanistan--is viewed as a model which can be imitated in the region, both with regard to the Persian Gulf and the Arab-Israeli conflict. There are numerous signs that they fear a Soviet-American “deal” at their expense: both Jordan and the Palestinians believe they have more loyal backers in Europe. Any attempt at Soviet-American cooperation with regard to the future of the Arab-Israeli conflict must ultimately be based upon at least a minimal degree of mutuality of interests and approach to the conflict. In a sense, support for Israel has become something of a test of support for perestroika, change in the policy toward the Arab-Israeli conflict being associated with over-all change in Soviet policies-domestic and foreign. Most important, however, is the altered interest in the Arab-Israeli conflict itself.