Dulles Urges International Board for Suez Canal, Silent on Israel

Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, addressing the 22-nation conference on the Suez Canal which opened here today, proposed that the operation of the canal should be made the responsibility of an international board which should be associated with the United Nations and on which Egypt should be represented.

Mr. Dulles did not mention the Egyptian blockade of the Suez Canal against Israel shipping. However, he said that his proposal provides that the operation of the canal should be conducted in accordance with the 1888 Suez Canal Convention and that there should be no question of prejudice to any power in operating the canal.

It was indicated here today that Israeli representatives in the capitals of the maritime powers have received “comforting assurances” about Israel’s Suez interests. It was reported that Israel has handed to the powers at the conference memoranda underlining Egypt’s denial to Israel of freedom of passage through the Suez Canal.

Secretary Dulles told the conference today that any proposal adopted by the parley should be flexible and that Egypt’s views should be ascertained. He said that Egypt’s right to equitable financial return should be recognized and that fair compensation should be given to the Suez Canal Company. Differences on these points should be settled by an arbitration commission, he suggested.

It was originally expected here this morning that Secretary Dulles would, in his speech, demand specific Egyptian compliance with the United Nations demand that Israeli ships be permitted passage through the Suez Canal. Nor was such a demand included in the speech delivered by British Prime Minister Sir Anthony Eden when he opened the conference.

The London conference is expected to last a week or ten days. It may well be the first of a series. The general belief here is that the London parley is only the beginning, and that it may take months before a solution acceptable to all will be found.