Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion notified Prime Minister Jawahar lal Nehru of India today that he was in total agreement with the Indian leader’s view that everything must be done to eliminate the use and threat of force in international relations. Mr. Ben-Gurion expressed that view in a cabled reply to an appeal from Nehru for support of India from “all peace-loving states,” in its current border warfare with Communist China.
Mr. Ben-Gurion noted in his message that Israel had proposed a general Middle East disarmament effort under mutual supervision, even in advance of global disarmament. He pointed out that Israel had declared its readiness to sign non-aggression treaties with Arab states, and he expressed Israel’s deep conviction that all international conflicts “can and must be solved” by peaceful means, in accordance with the United Nations Charter.
Mr. Ben-Gurion assured the Indian leader that every effort by countries to settle differences peacefully would always meet with the fullest sympathy and understanding by the Government and people of Israel.
(At the United Nations today, Israel abstained on a Soviet resolution calling for the admission of Communist China to the UN. The Russian draft was defeated when only 42 members voted for it, with 56 negative ballots and 12 abstentions, including Israel’s.)
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