The British Government will offer the Israel Government no formal treaty at this time, Anthony Nutting, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, told the House of Commons last night. He also asserted that the balance of forces presently stationed along Israel’s frontiers do not constitute a danger to Israel.
“We want to get stability first, then guarantee it,” Mr. Nutting told the House. “We will not enter into a formal commitment to perpetuate the present instability,” he added.
In a reply to critics of the Tripartite Declaration, who had earlier called for the declaration’s conversion into a formal treaty guaranteeing Israel’s security, Mr. Nutting said that the Tripartite Declaration served its purpose since it was made in 1950 in that no attempt has been made by either side to alter the demarcation lines by force.
There have been “unfortunate incidents,” he admitted, but “we will do everything” to bring the parties to a meeting under Maj. Gen. E. L. M. Burns, UN truce chief, to discuss the “regrettable” frontier situation. “We will continue to do all we can to bring about a wider settlement of these problems.” Mr. Nutting pledged.
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