American Reconnaissance Rejected By Egypt

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32382, 22 August 1970, Page 13

American Reconnaissance Rejected By Egypt

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright)

CAIRO, August 21. Egypt announced today that it rejected American reconnaissance of the Suez Canal cease-fire through artificial satellites and high-flying U2 aircraft as “a pretext for espionage.”

The semi-official newspaper, “Al Ahram,” in a surprise move, also announced that Egypt had turned down an American suggestion for similar reconnaissance hy the Soviet Union.

Iraqi authorities had detained 55 Egyptians and are holding them at security headquarters in Bagdad, Cairo Radio claimed last night It was the latest of a series of allegations about the treatment of Egyptians in Iraq after strained relations between the two countries over Egypt’s acceptance of the American Middle East peace initiative, which Iraq has rejected. The radio renewed charges that Iraqi officials had sealed off the premises of the Egyptian trade office in Bagdad. The detained Egyptians were working in Iraq for the Arab contractors’ company, an Egyptian construction firm which worked on Egypt’s Aswan Dam, the radio said. Cairo newspapers this week accused Bagdad of detaining eight other Egyptians, and said that Iraqi security officials had thrown a cordon round the Egyptian embassy there. They also accused two Iraqis in Cairo of distributing anti - Egyptian pamphlets printed at Iraq’s embassy here.

King Hussein, of Jordan, and President Nasser will meet in Alexandria today for a second session of talks to co-ordinate their policy towards Middle East peace discussions.

The two leaders arrived in Egypt’s summer resort last night after holding a first round of talks yesterday in Cairo’s Koubbeh Palace after the King’s arrival in the Egyptian capital. The talks today will be held

in the Rasel-Tin palace which overlooks the Mediterranean. King Hussein is making his three-day trip to the United Arab Republic after the acceptance by Cairo and Amman of the American peace proposals and the subsequent three-month ceasefire with Israel which began on August 8. In Amman yesterday a military spokesman said that several Israeli fighter planes attacked civilian cars travelling along the main road in some areas of the northern Jordan Valley, wounding a man and a woman.

He said that the planes, firing machine-guns, also damaged a tractor and a civilian car.

Jordanian ground fire intercepted the planes during the intermittent two-hour raid, the spokesman said. This is the first air raid on Jordan in a week and the fourth since the Middle East cease-fire came into effect on August 8. At the United Nations there were hopes that the longawaited peace talks between Egypt, Jordan and Israel might begin next week. A United Nations spokesman said that Dr Gunnar Jarring, who will handle the indirect talks, was still receiving replies to questions he put to Egypt, Jordan and

Israel about the site for the 1 negotiations, the level of re- i presentation and the timing, t As the Arab States have 1 already proposed New York i with their United Nations : delegates as negotiators and i

Israel has asked for a site in the Middle East area and talks at foreign minister 1 level, the spokesman’s state- i ment indicated a compromise arrangement now was under active consideration. , ■