Rumania, the only Soviet-bloc nation which refused to break off diplomatic relations with Israel last June when the Arab-Israeli war erupted, called today for an Israeli withdrawal from the territories it had occupied to the lines existing before the outbreak of hostilities. At the same time, however, the Rumanian spokesman stressed “the right of every state in the Middle East to see their independent and sovereign status secured and respected as well as their right to security and unimpaired peaceful development.”
The Rumanian view was presented in the general debate in the United Nations General Assembly today by Deputy Foreign Minister Mircea Malitza. He told the Assembly that Rumania considered Israel’s “annexationist” measures in Jerusalem unlawful, and that Rumania rejected all territorial claims based on force. He called for a political settlement and, in what was taken as recognition of Israel’s insistence on direct negotiations, said that “the settlement of disputes between countries of the Middle East must be reached, not by way of military clashes, but by way of mutual understanding and the implementation of solutions consonant with the interests of all the peoples of the region.”
He indicated that the United Nations would have to play a role in teaching this solution, stressing that “a political solution requires the use of the peaceful instruments produced by international practice and provided by the Charter.” He called for “a constructive, calm and patient approach” to the problem.
Pakinstan’s Foreign Minister Pirzada, addressing the Assembly, said he would welcome and support any constructive proposals for restoring peace with justice in the Middle East. He contended that “an injustice was done to the Arabs through the establishment of Israel and the expulsion of a million Palestinian Arabs.” He said that the 1949 armistice agreements between Israel and the Arab states cannot be “repudiated unilaterally or in any way except with the consent of the parties to them.”
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.
