French President Valery Giscard d’Estaing and Soviet Communist Party Secretary Leonid I. Brezhnev concluded yesterday an agreement stating for the first time that the two countries do not see a viable peace in the Middle East “without the retreat of Israeli troops from all the territories occupied in 1967.” Until now, French official statements had admitted the possibility of minor modifications on frontier lines in any future negotiated settlement.
A second point in the accord, issued at the conclusion of two days of talks between the two leaders, declared the necessity of “taking into consideration the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.” However, in stressing the nature of these rights, the communique added that they ought to be exercised “in respect of the right of existence of all the states in the region.”
Nowhere is Israel mentioned, but the statement also affirmed “the right of each of the states of the region to live within sure and recognized boundaries.” Finally, the two leaders expressed their “preoccupation and concern” over the Middle East situation and declared their support for resumption of the Geneva conference “as soon as possible.” The communique issued here was similar to the one issued in Vladivostok after the summit conference between President Ford and Brezhnev.
BREZHNEV SPARKS NUMEROUS DEMONSTRATIONS
Brezhnev’s visit to Paris sparked numerous demonstrations here in support of Jews in the Soviet Union. During a meeting between Giscard d’Estaing and the Soviet leader at Rambouillet Chateau, a group of demonstrators representing the Committee of Support for Soviet Jews climbed the Arc de Triomphe and tried to put up a huge banner reading, “Liberty for Jews of Russia.” The banner, however, was rapidly confiscated by police who arrested one of the protestors.
Another 200 demonstrators, militants from the Women’s Committee of Support for Soviet Jews, invaded the “Gare du Nord” train station at the time that the Paris-Moscow train was scheduled to leave. A number of women, dressed in black, paraded around the station carrying placards, some of which read, “Bon voyage but think of the Jewish prisoners who would like to leave for Israel.” Other demonstrators chained themselves to the train, preventing its departure until the police intervened.
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.
