Six cities in the Soviet Union have become accessible to Israeli telephone users by direct dialing.
Until now, calls to the USSR had to be booked through the international exchange operators, with frequent delays.
Starting Thursday, Israelis may reach Moscow, Leningrad, Kiev, Tbilisi, Tashkent and Kishinev by dialing the prefix 001, followed by 00 for access to the international exchange and 7 for the country code.
The cities were chosen because of the frequency of past operator-ordered calls, Reciprocal direct dial service from the Soviet Union to Israel is not yet available.
The direct link was made possible by British Telecom International Israelis can now direct dial to 107 countries around the world.
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.
