SOVIET SUPPORTS PARTITION

Greymouth Evening Star, 14 October 1947, Page 5

SOVIET SUPPORTS PARTITION

In New York today the Soviet announced that it supported in principle the plan for the partition of Palestine.

Mr S. K. Tsarapkin told the General Assembly’s Palestine Committee that Russia felt that one . Federal State occupied by two nationalities would be more desirable, but the establishment of such a State was impossible in view of the present con--11 ict between the Jews and the Arabs. Accordingly the Soviet was ready to support the Palestine inquiry committee’s majority recommendations. According to a later message from London, King Abdullah, welcoming the Arab League representatives to

the conference at Amman, said: “We don’t .seek enmity with anyone. We prefer peace to war and shall seek peace if our enemies do the same.” ' Transjordan’s Premier, Mr Samir Rifai, after the conference, said: “You should not believe the reports about troops massing at the borders. Such reports are damaging to the principles which the Arab League follows. There was .no decision about military operations but only safeguards.”

Mr Rifai said that whatever action the Arab League took on the Palestine situation would not be executed while the British forces remained in Palestine.