Soviet Union Reported Ready to Resume Bilateral Talks on the Middle East

Informed sources confirmed reports here today that the Soviet Union has agreed to resume bilateral talks on the Middle East. They are expected to begin in April between Joseph Sisco, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs and Soviet Ambassador Anatoly F. Dobrynin. The sources said the Soviets had agreed “in principle” to the new talks because of the failure of the Four Power deliberations conducted in New York between the UN representatives of the United States, Russia, Britain and France. They said the White House was also believed to feel that the Four Power talks had reached an impasse. But it was reliably reported that the Soviets had approached the U.S. regarding resumption of the Two-Power approach. President Nixon has stated in the past that the U.S. was tired of making proposals that the Soviets constantly rebuffed and that the next move was Moscow’s. It was noted that the Soviet-American meetings will not replace the Big Four talks at the UN but further meetings of the latter might be deferred when the bi-lateral discussions get under way.