France has agreed to sell Saudi Arabia “hundreds of millions of dollars” worth of airplanes, sophisticated electronic material and other military hardware, according to the French based Arab newspaper, “Al Nahar”.
The Lebanese weekly, now published in Paris, reports in its forthcoming issue that France and Saudi Arabia have concluded an agreement which could turn out to be France’s largest arms contract ever to have been signed. It provides, writes “Al ever to have been signed. It provides, writes “Al Nahar” for the sale of a whole series of Mirage planes, models C-35, F-4 and F-3S, electronic radar equipment, tanks and artillery.
The paper provides no details as to the quantities of material to be sold and French officials were not prepared to comment on the deal, or even acknowledge its existence. The Arabic paper also announced that Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko will arrive in Cairo on Sept. I in order to renew Soviet-Egyptian contacts after the “failure of the Vance mission”. Gromyko last met with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ismail Fahmy in Moscow in June.
“Al Nahar” says the Soviet Union has stepped up its diplomatic activity in the Middle East. The Soviet Ambassador in Beirut, Alexander Soldatov, writes “Al Anahar”, last week met on three different occasions with Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasir Arafat and gave assurances that it will not attend a Geneva conference without the active participation of the PLO. “Al Nahar” adds that a Palestinian delegation is due to visit Moscow next month after Gromyko’s return from Cairo.
FRANCE MUM ON PALESTINIAN CLAUSE
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the French Mission to the United Nations in New York has said he has no information regarding a report by CBS diplomatic correspondent Marvin Kalb that his government is leading a move for a new Security Council resolution on the Mideast to include a reference to a Palestinian homeland. Kalb had reported that the proposed draft would add a clause to Resolution 242 calling for Palestinian rights. The resolution now refers only to the Palestinians as refugees. France holds the presidency of the 15-nation Security Council this month.
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