President Eisenhower told a press conference today that he would have to be convinced that a summit conference on the Arab-Israel issue would be useful before he would consider such a proposal.
The President was asked about the possibility of a Middle East summit parley that would include the heads of the tripartite powers, the Soviet Union, Egypt, and Israel. He made it clear in his reply that if he thought it would promote peace he would meet any foreign leader. But in all such proposals he said, he would first have to be convinced that a useful purpose would be served.
Mr. Eisenhower said there was no connection between the Middle East tension and the dispatch of four U.S. Navy destroyers to that area except a hope the ships might provide a stabilizing influence. He made it clear that the ships were not sent to take sides in any local argument.
Israel is the only state in the Middle East to have rejected an offer of Soviet economic aid. Stephenson P. Doresey, acting director of the Office of Near East, South Asia and Africa Operations, told the House Foreign Affairs Committee yesterday. He was testifying on the International Cooperation Administration’s request for funds for those areas.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
