Dr. Ahmed Hussein, new Egyptian Ambassador to Washington, said at a press conference today that following a settlement with the British on the Suez Canal question, Egypt will “hear any fair proposals” to meet with Israel “without any party dictating conditions” and with the parties respecting United Nations decisions.
The Ambassador indicated that “it would be difficult” for Israel and Egypt to join the same defense pact. However, he said that there was nothing to prevent the strengthening of an all-Arab pact or to prevent the West from having a separate agreement with Israel. He declared that “Egypt has no ambitions of aggression, but only wishes sovereignty of its own territory.” After British troop evacuation of the. Suez Canal zone it would be possible to begin thinking about stability and harmony with regard to Israel, he stated.
Asked about the Egyptian blockade of the Suez Canal against Israel-bound shipping and about the complaint against this practice by Sen., Alexander Wiley, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Dr. Hussein said that he hoped to see Sen. Wiley to explain the Egyptian point of view. He declared that Egypt was acting in accordance with international law in stopping only war materiel.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
