President Ford declared at a press conference in Topeka, Kansas last night that unless there is progress in Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger’s current trip to the Middle East, “there is the very serious prospect of another war in the Middle East” which would raise the possibility “of another oil embargo.”
The President also said that the possibility existed for “a step-by-step progress in the Middle East but no one can be certain in that very volatile and very difficult area.” He expressed the hope that Kissinger would return to the United States “with some encouraging news” from the Middle East. If the news is encouraging, the President said, Kissinger “will probably go back shortly thereafter for what we hope would be a settlement on a step-by-step basis.”
Ford did not mention, as he has in past comments on the Middle East conflict, the possibility of a reconvening of the Geneva conference but sources here said there was no indication that the President had given up hope on the Geneva talks.
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