Guroin in Has No New Plan on Suez Canal Issue, Foreign Minister Says

British Foreign Secretary Selwyn Lloyd emerged late this afternoon from a secret meeting here with an announcement that Britain has not switched its plan for a solution of the Suez Canal crisis and holds to the plan he advanced earlier at the U. N. Security Council. The secret meeting was attended by the Foreign Ministers of Britain, France and Egypt and by UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold.

Earlier, reports were circulated here that Britain is willing to accept a compromise plan whereby Egypt would grant some kind of international control but could receive assurance at the same time that the West would continue to blind its eyes to an anti-Israel blockade as far as the Suez is concerned. The reports here also held that Britain and France had split on the terms of the proposed compromise.

The United Nations correspondent of the New York Times today published an account reporting Britain’s so-called “dump Israel” plan. The Israel delegation was known to have investigated this report. The Israel delegation reportedly hesitates to ascribe authenticity to the report of the British move, since in the Israel viewpoint such a move would violate both the 1888 Constantinople Convention and the Security Council resolution of 1951. Furthermore, it is reported authoritatively here that Britain has in the past assured Israel both privately and publicly that it would not fail to adhere to both the convention and the Council resolution prohibition against an Egyptian blockade of Israel shipping.

(In Washington today Ambassador Abba Eban called on Secretary of State John Foster Dulles. It was learned in Israeli circles that the Secretary drew the Ambassador’s attention to the fact that on a number of occasions, including his address this week at the Security Council, Mr. Dulles has publicly opposed the blockading of the Suez Canal against Israel as a violation of the Security Council resolution of Sept., 1956.)