Keep hands off Mideast, Carter tells Europeans

President Carter warned Sunday he would use a UN veto against any European initiative which would undercut the US-sponsored Middle East peace process. He said European allies had been asked not to intervene in Egyptian-Israeli talks over autonomy for Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza "as long as we are making progress."

"I don't believe they will do it for the next couple of weeks, which I believe will be enough time to get us back at the bargaining table," Mr. Carter said. "And even if they do come in, we will not permit in the United Nations any action that would destroy the sanctity of and the present form of UN 242."

This was a reference to the UN resolution calling for Israel's right to exist within secure and defensible borders.

Mr. Carter's remarks came in an excerpt from an interview televised Sunday night by the Cable News Network, the new 24-hour all-news TV network.