Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei A. Gromyko said here today that the Middle East crisis endangers “not that region alone but peace in the entire world.” Gromyko, who was addressing the International Conference on Vietnam currently meeting here with the participation of 12 governments and the UN, said that the Middle East crisis “should be solved on a similar basis to what happened in Vietnam.”
The Soviet Minister added: “Like in Vietnam, the reestablishment of peace in the Middle East can be obtained only on the basis of justice, respect of the legitimate rights of the people involved, the end of oppression and encroachment and the renunciation of territorial annexations.” Gromyko’s reference to the Mideast came as a surprise to most delegates, since the conference had been dealing exclusively with the Vietnam situation and the exchange of prisoners.
Basing themselves on Gromyko’s declaration, observers here believe that the Soviet delegate also raised the Middle East issue when he conferred here this afternoon with U.S. Secretary of State William P. Rogers. It is generally believed that the Chinese Minister for Foreign Affairs Chi Peng-Fei will also raise this issue during his forthcoming meeting with Rogers.
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