Nicanor Costa Mendez, Foreign Minister of Argentina, assured Israeli Foreign Minister Abba Eban today that, contrary to reports giving “a wrong picture” of the policies of the new Argentine regime under Gen, Juan Carlos Ongania, the Buenos Aires Government extends full freedoms to all peoples in that country, including the sizable Jewish community in Argentina.
Mr. Costa Mendez was one of seven foreign ministers with whom Mr. Eban met here today in continuing his series of high level conversations with many of the world statesmen attending the current session of the General Assembly. Among others, Mr. Eban conferred today with Poland’s Foreign Minister Adam Rapacki, considered one of the key Soviet bloc statesmen here for the Assembly.
As he did in most of his conferences with the various foreign ministers here, Mr. Eban talked with the Argentine foreign policy chief mainly about mutual efforts to coordinate the policies of the two governments regarding general issues before the United Nations at the present time; bilateral relations concerning economic, social and technical matters; and the various Middle East issues, especially the question of Arab refugees, to be debated by the Assembly this year.
However, the Foreign Minister of Argentina, noting that his Government felt that Israel has a special interest in affairs concerning all Jewish people, referred to the fact that, as he stated, many press accounts have wrongfully reported that Argentina’s new regime was not friendly to the Jews in Argentina. He said he “regretted” those reports “deeply,” He stated emphatically that Argentina extends fullest freedoms to the Jews in the country.
Regarding Israel, Mr. Costa Mendez assured Mr. Eban that his Government supports Israel. He urged Mr. Eban to persuade the Israeli Government to ask Israeli President Zalman Shazar to visit Argentina, Mr. Shazar had been scheduled to visit Argentina last summer during a tour of several Latin American countries. However, that visit was canceled, since the political overturn of the Buenos Aires Government coincided with President Shazar’s scheduled trip to Buenos Aires.
TALK WITH RAPACKI, FIRST WITH A SOVIET BLOC LEADER, STRESSES FRIENDSHIP
In his conference with Mr. Rapacki, Mr. Eban and the Polish Foreign Minister resumed discussions they began last May, when Mr. Eban visited Warsaw, On the agenda were the traditional Polish-Israeli atmosphere of friendly relations, including bilateral interests in Polish-Israeli political, economic and cultural relations.
Accompanying Mr. Eban to the talk with Mr. Rapacki was Gideon Raphael, vice-chairman of Israel’s delegation to this year’s Assembly, who had been with Mr. Eban in the Polish capital when he talked with Warsaw’s Foreign Minister last spring. The Eban-Rapacki conference was Israel’s first high-level talk here this year with any representative of the Soviet Bloc at this year’s Assembly.
Mr. Eban’s conferences today included one with J.M.A.H. Luns, Foreign Minister of The Netherlands; and these other Foreign Ministers: Antonio Carillo Flores, of Mexico; Rene Chalmers, of Haiti; Samuel Ngude Odaka, of Uganda, and M.P. Ilboudo, of Upper Volta.
Among items discussed with the various statesmen were also Israel’s interest in the issues concerning Africa, especially the regime in Rhodesia, apartheid in South Africa, the situation in Southwest Africa and the affairs in Mozambique and Angola; human rights in general; and the drive toward economic and social development.
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