Signs Of Easing In M.E. Crisis

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31724, 6 July 1968, Page 13

Signs Of Easing In M.E. Crisis

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter— Copyright) MOSCOW, July President Nasser begins formal talks with Soviet leaders today amid growing signs that the United Arab Republic and her Russian allies might be preparing a major new initiative to end the Middle East crisis.

Observers have been struck by the sudden flurry of new ideas on the Arab-Israeli dispute expressed in the last week by both Soviet and Egyptian officials. They regarded a statement by the Egyptian Foreign Minister, Mr Mahmoud Riad, in Copenhagen on Wednesday as a major development towards a solution. Mr Riad said that Israel was a reality and that the Arab States had been mistaken to demand its annihilation. The observers also felt that the Soviet offer, made twice in the last week, to consider a Middle East arms embargo if Israel withdrew from the occupied Arab lands was

another indication that important moves were in the offing. President Nasser, meanwhile, was reported to be considering extending his stay in Moscow. He was originally due to leave on Sunday for Jugoslavia, where he will have talks with President Tito, but U.A.R. sources said he might remain here for an extra two days. Mr Riad, who had talks last week with the United Nations Middle East mediator. Dr Gunnar Jarring, arrived last night to join President Nasser’s delegation. At the same time Dr Jarring—who spent last week-end in Moscow conferring with the Soviet Prime Minister, Mr Alexei Kosygin, and the Foreign Minister, Mr Andrei Gromyko—was flying to London to meet the Jordanian Foreign Minister, Mr Abdel Monem Al-Rifai. Political Solution The Soviet Union has been persistently canvassing the policy of seeking a political solution to the crisis ever since the war in June last year, and particularly since the United Nations Security Council resolution last November calling for an Israeli withdrawal and recognition of the right of all states in the area to exist. “The Times” said today that Mr Riad had made the most significant step towards recognising Israel this year. It was commenting editorially on Mr Riad's Copenhagen statement when he was quoted as saying: “Egypt accepts the realities, and one of those is Israel.” “Some Way Short” “The Times” said: “This Is still some way short of the recognition that is Israel's ultimate objective, and it leaves essential questions unanswered (frontiers, refugees), but it is the most significant advance towards a solution since the United Nations sent Dr Gunnar Jarring forth to mediate last November. “It has long been whispered in diplomatic circles that Egypt was, in fact, ready to

accept that Israel is now a permanent feature on the Middle Eastern scene,” ‘The Times” added. “Now she has said it.

‘The occasion is particularly important because Mr Riad was on his way to Moscow to join President Nasser who is having discussions with the Russian leaders. “The Russian role in the Middle East has been obscure since the end of the June war, but it now seems that they have decided to use their considerable influence with the Arabs to push them towards a peace settlement”