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Soviet Union Reportedly Shifting Emphasis of Middle East Concern

February 15, 1967
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Indications of a shift in Soviet Russia’s Middle East policy were seen today in a dispatch by John K. Cooley, the Christian Science Monitor’s correspondent in Lebanon. These, he reported, include improved relations with Iran, Turkey and Pakistan, which apparently stem from Sino-Soviet strife. Other factors, he reported, are the result of many complex issues, including declining French interest in Morocco and Tunisia, growing Soviet influence in Algeria, and the economic rivalries in the Sahara between Morocco, Mauritania, Algeria, Spain and other Western powers.

The Soviet Union’s recent sale of $100,000,000 worth of arms to Iran has shocked Egypt’s President Nasser, Washington observers believe. Now the Shah of Iran is believed to be seeking modern anti-aircraft weapons to defend the country’s seaports, and oil installations against possible attacks by Nasser’s aircraft.

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