Austrian Foreign Minister Dr. Rudolf Kirchschlaeger arrived in Cairo on Tuesday (9 May) only a week after returning from Israel where he held talks with Israeli leaders on the Middle East situation.

He was greeted at Cairo Airport by the Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohammed Mourad Ghaleb, with whom he was to hold talks during his official five-day visit. Although not on his official schedule, Dr Kirchschlaeger is also expected to have discussions with President Sadat, who returned to Egypt on Wednesday (10 May).

Austria has not been formally requested by either Egypt or Israel to mediate in the Middle East, but Foreign Office officials in Vienna indicated that Dr. Kirchschlaeger's talks in Tel Aviv are likely to be broached during his Cairo visit.

The film shows Dr. Kirchschlaeger arriving at the airport and being questioned by reporters in the V.I.P. lounge. In answer to one question, he said that he would be dealing with "international political questions."
Speaking at a banquet held for the Austrian Foreign Minister on Wednesday night, Dr Ghaleb said there would be no peace in the Middle East until Israel withdrew from all occupied territories.

There follows a transcript of the exchange between Dr Kirchschlaeger and the press in the V.I.P. lounge. The Minister was asked about the implications of this week's hijacking drama in Israel: