Secretary of State Christian A. Herter declared today that the Middle East problem was not likely to be discussed between President Eisenhower and Soviet Premier Khrushchev when the two leaders meet.
At a luncheon with the United Nations Correspondents Association, Mr. Herter was asked whether, in view of the fact that both the United States and the Soviet Union saw eye to eye on Palestine partition in 1947, they might not be able to find general agreement on the Middle East question. Mr, Herter replied:
“I don’t know whether the question is even to be discussed. I have the feeling that, without consulting Israel and the neighbors of Israel, it would be a little presumptuous for us and the Russians to try to solve this problem.”
Mr. Herter was also asked whether there was still a possibility for a group of Jewish representatives to meet with Mr. Khrushchev. He replied:
“In the State Department, we had requests from a number of Jewish organizations and from individuals who wanted to meet with Mr. Khrushchev. These requests were endorsed by us to Mr. Menshikov, who had official charge of the arrangements. However, our suggestions did not always meet with approval.”
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