The Soviet Union may be softening its position toward Israel’s conditions for Soviet participation in an international conference for Middle East peace. Jerusalem was informed of the latest Soviet views following a recent meeting between Mikhail Gorbachev and Prime Minister Bettino Craxi of Italy, Haaretz reported Sunday.
According to the report, Gorbachev said Soviet policy on the resumption of diplomatic relations with Israel would change once an international conference becomes a concrete possibility. He also reportedly said that Israel’s conditions for such a conference would not constitute an impediment.
Haaretz said the issues of diplomatic relations and Jewish emigration from the USSR would be discussed at a meeting in New York this week between the Soviet Ambassador to the United Nations and Avraham Tamir, Director General of the Foreign Ministry.
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.
