Eban Meets with British and French Ambassadors to Discuss Israel’s Stand on Soviet Pilots

Israel mounted a diplomatic challenge today to the new Soviet military role in Egypt. Foreign Minister Abba Eban met separately with the British and French ambassadors to delineate Israel’s stand on the presence of Soviet pilots flying Egyptian planes in aerial missions over Egypt. Mr. Eban’s meetings with Ambassadors John Barnes and Francis Hure were reported to be extensions of his talk yesterday with United Nations Ambassador Walworth Barbour. Further meetings are planned with the envoys of other nations in Israel and with foreign ministry officials in world capitals, it was learned. Mr. Eban reportedly related the latest Russian escalation to the Soviet Union’s role in the Four Power talks on the Mideast in New York. The Soviet Union has become an active partner in military operations on one of the sides in the Mideast dispute while continuing to present itself to the other three powers as interested in furthering peace, Mr. Eban reportedly told the ambassadors.

By so doing it has introduced a new, serious dimension into the conflict, in contrast to the other participants in the Four Power talks which have adopted the principle of non-intervention in the military aspects of the dispute, the Israeli Foreign Minister reportedly said. He reportedly observed that the latest developments have re-enforced the Israeli position dissociating itself from any diplomatic move designed to accord the Soviet Union a special standing in the Arab-Israeli conflict. It was learned that Israeli representatives abroad have been instructed to stress that the prevention of foreign intervention in the Mideast is one of the conditions of peace in the area and the independence of all nations. They have reportedly been asked to re-emphasize Israel’s view that the governments of the Mideast must create and consolidate peace among themselves without dragging the Big Powers into local conflicts.