Ivor Richard, the recently retired British Ambassador to the United Nations, said today that, like America’s Andrew Young, he too had recently had meetings with representatives of the Palestine Liberation Organization in New York.
Richard told a BBC interviewer that he has a bill surprised” at the furor ever Young’s activity since there had been a lot of diplomatic activity at the United Nations in the past month or two over a possible new Security Council resolution on the Middle East. It would also have been difficult for Young, on assuming the chairmanship of the Security Council of the beginning of August, to avoid talking to PLO officials.
In his own contacts last month, Richard had received some indication from the PLO and some Arab governments that the PLO was ready to accept Security Council Resolution 242 “in some guarded or wrapped up form,” thus making it easier for it to become part of the Middle East negotiating process. However, the furor over Young was likely to delay moves to introduce a new resolution giving the Palestinians a role in the negotiations.
Meanwhile, the PLO’s diplomatic status was increasing, Richard added. It had had an office in London for some time and it was placing greater emphasis on diplomacy than military or terrorist activity. Richard’s comments follow a report that UN Secretary General Kurt Waldheim would like him to undertake a special mission to the Middle East. Its nature is not yet known but Richard has described it as “very interesting.” His removal as British envoy at the UN is a result of the change of government here. A former Labor member of Parliament, he was given the post by the Labor administration.
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