Israeli officials were reported today to be giving special attention to a report in a Lebanese newspaper to the effect that 2,000 Soviet technicians were aiding Syria in both civilian and military programs. The Beirut newspaper, Lahayat, also declared that there were few Communist Chinese experts in Syria, contrary to reports earlier this year.
The newspaper also said that Syrian Government offices were staffed with Russians, who were exerting strong control over Syrian activities. Israeli experts indicated a belief that the Syrian regime was continuing the ties with the Soviet Union maintained by the regime it toppled in a coup recently, but that the present regime was in direct contact with Moscow, instead of working through Cairo as the former Hafaz regime had done.
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.
