U.S. Prediction of Action By Nasser

Press, Volume XCIV, Issue 28056, 25 August 1956, Page 9

U.S. Prediction of Action By Nasser

(Rec. 8 p.m.) WASHINGTON. August 23. American officials preparing for the next move in the Suez crisis said today that there appeared to he a 50-50 chance that the Egyptian President, Colonel Nasser, would read favourably to the emphasis on Peacefid. negotiation which the London conference produced. It was considered extremely likely that President Nasser would avoid an outright rejection ol the conference Proposal for talks on the plan for intei7iational control of the Suez Canal American officials said that if Presi--ent Nasser to negotiate the first hurdle towards settling the crisis *°ulq be cleared. In New York, the Uniled Nations Y^^etary-General Mr Dag Hammarskjold. announced at a press conference *nat he had cancelled a planned trip

to South America because of the Middle East situation. “The time was not right” for him to be absent with the Palestine problem. Suez “and everything else, up in the air.’’ he said. Mr Hammarskjold expressed the hope that a solution of the Suez Canal dispute would be found through negotiation. He noted that references had been made at the London conference on Suez to some kind of association ultimately with the United Nations and added that, if so. the proper forum probably would be at a regular session of the General Assembly. Meanwhile. United Nations diploma’s who had been p’ainly worried by the first British and. French reactions to Egypt’s nationalisation of the canal, regarded as the most significant result of the London talks the acceptance on all sides of the necessity of inding a way to negotiate.

Middle Eastern sources .said that they thought there was a good chance of negotiations taking place with Egypt, provided that the Western Powers clearly recognised Egypt’s right to nationalise the canal and provided that the talks were held within the framework of the 1888 Convention In other words, they said, the negotiations would not be on the basis of anything discussed in London because Egypt had not been there to make known her views. The talks,, they said, would have to be “open.” and start from scratch.