A British Government spokesman in the House of Lords said today that the government would not attempt to dictate to either the Arab States or Israel what concessions either should make in the interests of a peaceful settlement in the Middle East. Lord Gosford, who called Sir Anthony Eden’s Guildhall speech a “misunderstood” statement, did stress that there would have to be a compromise if a settlement were to be reached.
Lord Silken, a Labor peer, hit out at Foreign Secretary Selwyn LIoyd for making a statement recently similar to Eden’s. He called it “quite unrealistic” to expect Israel to begin negotiations on the basis of its surrender of territory.
Another Laborite, Lord Henderson, voiced a plea that the projected summit meeting of Western and Soviet leaders bring forth an agreement on the Middle East which would guarantee the Arabs whatever unity they sought and Israel the right to live–both without interference from outside.
He suggested that the minimum agreement to come out of the summit parley should include guarantees of the existing frontiers against all change; a ban on arms shipments to the region, and an understanding not to introduce nuclear weapons or bases in the Middle East.
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