Middle East peace talks break down

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32566, 27 March 1971, Page 19

Middle East peace talks break down

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright) NEW YORK, March 26. The United Nations talks aimed at peace in the Middle East have broken down again, and U Thant’s special envoy, Dr Gunnar Jarring, and the Egyptian Ambassador (Mr Muhammed El-Zayyat) have both left New York after discussions lasting two months and a half.

As the United Nations officially announced Dr Jarring’s return today to Moscow, where he is Sweden’s Ambassador, both Mr Zayyat and the Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations (Mr Yosef Tekoah) blamed each other for the impasse.

Mr Zayyat said: “I am leaving because I have nothing more to do here.” Mr Tekoah declared that it was up to Cairo to open the way to peace. “The only way to pursue discussions is free negotiations,” he said. “When Cairo agrees to proceed in this manner, the talks will be able to progress towards peace.” After a farewell call on Dr Jarring, who had said that he was ready to return if

he were needed, Mr Zayyat said the envoy had told him that, after a lapse of one month and a half, he was still waiting for Israel’s reply to his note of February 8, which proposed a commitment by Israel to total withdrawal from the Arab territories she occupied in June, 1967. Egypt, in answer to a similar note, had agreed to a peace agreement with Israel in exchange for her withYesterday’s events shat-

tered hopes of any early pro, gress in Dr Jarring’s mission. United Nations diplomats say that the recent visit to Washington and New York by the Israeli Foreign Minister (Mr Abba Eban) failed to break the deadlock, although the' United States Secretary of State (Mr William Rogers) had privately encouraged Israel to make concessions during his meeting with Mr Eban. The United States has not backed away from her insistence that Israel must withdraw to her pre-1967 frontiers with Egypt, except for Gaza, the sources say. She was still insisting that Israel could not have sovereignty over the Sharm El Sheik promontory, which controls its only access to the Red Sea; but an Israeli presence was conceivable. This could be done through participation in an international peace force, but that idea was at present opposed by Egypt. Yesterday the Ambassadors of the United States, Russia, Britain and France discussed for two hours and a half the guarantees they could provide for an eventual settlement

Egyptian fears The Egyptian Cabinet today reviewed the nation’s readiness for war amid growing belief that a new military clash with Israel might be near. While President Sadat conferred with the Soviet Union Ambassador (Mr Vladimir Vinogradov), the Prime Minister (Dr Mahmoud Fawzy) presided over a Cabinet meeting attended by Egypt’s 24 Governors. A decree issued afterwards gave the Govenors military powers in case of an emergency, when the Government would be decentralised. Preparations for meeting any Israeli strike were reviewed. Mock air raids and Civil Defence exercises have been held in Egyptian cities in recent weeks.