A conference of United States diplomats in the Near East will open in Damascus tomorrow with George V. Allen, newly-appointed Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, in attendance.
State Department sources made known today that Mr. Allen will hear reports by various ambassadors in order to became acquainted at first-hand with problems within the region. Mr. Allen will fly to Washington immediately after the conference and is expected here on December 20.
The Beirut radio today quoted the Damascus press as expressing satisfaction that the site of the meeting gave the Arabs a chance to familiarize the new Assistant Secretary of State with their point of view and provided an opportunity for him to see “the indignation of the Arab public opinion at the American policy in the Near East.” The radio also announced that the Syrian Government has decided to establish “a chain of military settlements along the border with Israel to check Zionist expansionism.”
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