Russian Warships In Mediterranean

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31385, 2 June 1967, Page 9

Russian Warships In Mediterranean

(N.Z.P. A.-Reuter—copyright)

PORT SAID, June 1. 'Eight more Russian warships were heading into the Mediterranean today as the United States aircraft carrier Intrepid moved into the Suez Canal.

Two Russian vessels crossed from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean yesterday and are now only a few hours’ sailing from the Middle East crisis area.

The United States Sixth Fleet was already in the Eastern Mediterranean. The 33,000-ton Intrepid was expected to be in the Red Sea by late today—and from Suez, at the southern end of the canal, it is only another 175 miles to the Straits of Tiran, entrance to the Gulf of Aqaba and the Israeli port of Eilat, which Egypt has been blockading since the beginning of the crisis. There have been moves in Washington and London for a declaration by the major maritime nations that the straits and the gulf are international waters. The U.A.R. maintains they are Egyptian territory. There have also been reports that the United States is prepared to test the blockade, perhaps with the Intrepid. Reports Denied However, the Defence Department in Washington today categorically denied these reports, and naval sources said the carrier would be going to Vietnam without stopping en route. The “New York Times” News Service said Washington observers believed the denial was issued to remove Egyptian suspicions while diplomatic soundings continued behind the scenes. There was also some belief in high Administration quarters that the Soviet ship movement was nothing more than a routine replacement and supplementing of the 10-to-20 ship task force that the Soviet Union maintains in the Mediterranean. From a military standpoint, the Soviet naval force, even with the additional ships, was viewed as no challenge or threat to the 50-ship Sixth Fleet, now concentrated north of Crete. Misinterpretation Feared However, there was some concern among Administration officials that the Soviet naval movements might be misinterpreted by President Nasser and other Arab leaders as indicating that the Soviet Union was prepared to intervene militarily on their behalf, and thus perhaps embolden them in their moves against Israel. In some ways the movement of the Intrepid out of the Mediterranean underscored the growing appraisal within the United States Administration that the immediate threat of military conflict in the Middle East was diminishing, the news service said. It also reflected the general lack of military concern in Washington over the movement Of the additional Soviet ships. The Intrepid was in the Mediterranean on the way to South-east Asia last week when the Middle East crisis seemed to be approaching a point of armed conflict. The carrier was temporarily held in the Mediterranean,

supplementing two other attack carriers in the United States Sixth Fleet, as the Administration anxiously watched to see whether the crisis might deteriorate into war. Call In U.N. In the United Nations yesterday, America urged the Security Council to call on all parties to abide by U Thant’s appeal to “forgo belligerence” and avoid all other actions which could increase tension, N.Z.P.A.-Reuter reported. Egypt submitted a formal resolution to the Security Council demanding that Israel be made to rejoin the Egyptian-Israeli mixed Armistice Commission. • Israel has boycotted the commission since the Suez campaign in 1956 when she

dedared the armistice accord was “dead and buried.” The commission was set up in 1949 after the Palestine war. The task of the commission was to keep the cease-fire agreement after the end of fighting between Egypt and Israel. Under the agreement neither party could violate the international frontier, enter or pass through the air space of the other party or through waters within three miles of the coastline of the other party. Troops Warned In the Middle East States, Arab talk of a “holy war” went on and the Israeli army chief, Major General Yithak Rabin, warned his troops to be ready for a possible “swift and sudden” change from the present state of alert to action. The Israeli Government, facing increasing militant pressure for unilateral action, was said to be considering appointing General Moshe Dayan, commander of the 1956 Sinai campaign against Egypt, as Defence Minister. In a flurry of comings and goings, the Arab States meanwhile appeared to tighten their curtain of solidarity around Israel. The latest military help for the Arab cause was said to be coming soon from Algeria and Yemen. Iraq began flying troops into Egypt, and Iraq and Jordan exchanged envoys to discuss Iraqi troop movements into Jordanian territory bordering Israel. President Nasser sent his Vice-President, Mr Zakariya Mohieddin on quick visits to Iraq and Syria. Soothing Feelings? However, observers thought the main aim of the Damascus visit could be to soothe Syrian feelings about Tuesday’s surprise Egypt-Jordan defence pact Syria and Jordan have been waging a war of words over their radio stations for a long time with Syria making strong personal attacks on King Hussein of Jordan.