United Nations Secretary General Kurt Waldheim said here that while it is “no secret” that “things are going rather slow” with regard to an interim Suez Canal agreement, “it is our duty that we do everything possible to be helpful.” He reiterated his willingness to go to the Middle East if it would be helpful, but he did not indicate that any of the parties had asked him to.
“I can’t tell you what the outcome will be, but I think it would be a very bad approach if we were to stand back and say, well, we can’t do anything, just let’s stop the whole thing,” Waldheim told newsmen. “It is our duty to continue our efforts so that we can contribute to a solution of the problem. This is the main reason why Dr. (Gunnar V.) Jarring had these (African) contacts, and on the basis of these contacts he will continue to make every effort to contribute to a settlement.”
It would be an exaggeration, however, to say he himself was optimistic, Waldheim added. “I am nearly 30 years in the diplomatic service,” he said, “and you know very well that I would not be sincere if I said that I am optimistic, but I am not pessimistic either.” He asserted that the UN had the “confidence” of both parties, “and it is very important, because if we lose that confidence, we do not have a chance at all.”
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.
