Brezhnev: Middle East on His Mind, Egypt Under His Thumb

Soviet Communist Party Secretary Leonid I. Brezhnev called for the elimination of “the hotbeds of war in Southeast Asia and in the Middle East” and the promotion of “a political settlement in these areas on the basis of respect for the legitimate ripe of states and peoples subject to aggression.” Delivering his report to the 24th Soviet Communist Party Congress which opened yesterday in Moscow, Brezhnev reiterated the Soviet government’s readiness “to join other powers who are permanent members of the Security Council in providing international guarantees for a political settlement in the Middle East.” The Kremlin leader said Soviet foreign policy favored “an immediate and firm rebuff to any acts of aggression and international arbitrariness” and observed that full use must be made of the United Nations for that purpose. He said the Soviet Union favored a world disarmament conference and dismantling of foreign military bases.

Observers said there was no indication that Brezhnev was actually considering a Soviet moratorium on arms supplies to Egypt or the dismantling of Soviet military installations and the removal of its personnel from Egyptian territory. What Brezhnev actually had in mind, they said, was to spotlight American and Israeli “aggressions.” His specific references to the Middle East followed a familiar line. He attributed the crisis in that region to “Israel’s attack on the UAR, Syria and Jordan.” He said the Soviet Union and other “fraternal socialist countries” had helped restore the defense potential of the Arab states and pledged that “the Soviet Union will continue its firm support of its Arab friends.” Brezhnev made no reference to rising Jewish demands for human and emigration rights in the Soviet Union or to dissent generally within the borders of the USSR.