Secretary of State John Foster Dulles today invited Mrs. Golda Meir, Israel’s Foreign Minister, to the State Department for continuation of the discussions on the United Nations request for Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza and Akaba areas. Israel Ambassador Abba Eban participated in today’s meeting.
Mrs. Meir said later that the talks centered primarily on the actual problem and not really on the projected resolution which the United States intends to present to the UN General Assembly on the Gaza-Akaba issue. She said that Israel was and is still hoping to reach a solution of the problem. Mr. Eban indicated that more work had to be done on the Gaza problem than on the Akaba issue. A statement by State Department spokesman Lincoln White declared:
“The United States has not altered in any respect the position as set forth by the President on February 20. We have begun an exchange of views at the UN with certain states with which we have co-sponsored earlier resolutions with the view to finding the most appropriate language by which to express the President’s policies in the event this becomes necessary. We are still hopeful that there will be a voluntary withdrawal by Israel so that no further UN action in this respect will be called for. We are now having further exchanges on this aspect of the matter with the Government of Israel.”
It was made known the U.S. is consulting with India, Yugoslavia, Indonesia, Brazil, Colombia and Norway. Meanwhile, State Department sources sought to refute the reports that the U.S. was weakening its position on Israel’s withdrawal.
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