NEW EFFORT AT UNITED NATIONS

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32233, 27 February 1970, Page 13

NEW EFFORT AT UNITED NATIONS

<N Z.P.A.-Keuter--C»eiirftM) NEW YORK, February 26. The United Nations Secretary. General (Ulhant) is said to be hoping today to prod the four Great Powers into redoubling their efforts to promote a Middle East peace settlement based oh

Witbin hours of his hurried return from a visit to his homeland, Burma, U Thant conferred last night with Lord Caradon, the British delegate, who gave him a detailed report on last week’s meeting of the four Powers. A preliminary report, relayed to him in Rangoon, bad convinced U Thant that there were “certain positive elements” in the Great Powers' discussions that be could encourage: and it was this that led him to cut short his visit to Burma by three days. The Swissair airliner disaster was another influential factor in his return. The United States Ambassador (Mr Charles Yost), who will preside over the next meeting of the four, is expected to call on U Thant today, United Nations diplomats say that the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister (Mr Jacob Malik) and the French Ambassador (Mr Armand Berard) will also have separate talks with U Thant. There is speculation that the Secretary-General may

support the French proposal that the four Great Powers should “catalogue" the points on which they are in accord, and then ask him to “reactivate” the peace mission of Dr Gunnar Jarring, his special Middle East envoy The United States and Britain are reluctant to accept the French plan because they feel the four should aim higher. They have taken the position that progress can be made only if the Soviet Union adopts a different atti-l tude, while the Russians are looking for changes in United States policy. All four participants have side-stepped an African suggestion that they should ex-; pand their membership to include elected members of the Security Council from East-i ern Europe, Africa, Asia, and Latin America.