A West German Foreign Ministry official declared in Parliament yesterday that Chancellor Ludwig Erhard’s Government has no intention of seeking diplomatic relations with Israel at the present time.
Answering a question, Dr. Karl Carstens, a State Secretary in the Ministry, repeated the Government position that “a sensitive and difficult complex of German foreign policy” barred such relations for the time being.
This was understood to be a reference to fears that if West Germany recognized Israel, the Arab states would retaliate with recognition of Communist East Germany. West Germany, which does not maintain ties with countries recognizing East Germany, would then have to decide whether to sever diplomatic relations with the Arab countries.
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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.
