Hammarskjold Hopes U.N. Assembly Will Help “clarley” Suez Issue

Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold told a press conference here that the United Nations had not been able to reach any solution to the problem of freedom of passage of the Suez Canal but voiced the belief that further progress would be made during the forthcoming session of the General Assembly.

He conceded yesterday that “we have not reached any solution so far but I think we have managed to get greater clarity on the problem and I believe that in the forthcoming General Assembly, that process of clarification will be continued, certainly by diplomatic means and perhaps publicly.”

The Secretary General stressed that “there are no new means that can be brought into action” and pointed out that “the means of enforcement of the United Nations are strictly limited.” He declared that under the Constantinople Convention, “it is not the United Nations which is the authorized interpreter of the legal situation.”

Mr. Hammarskjold also laid stress on the fact that the canal question “is closely related to other aspects of the Palestine problem” and that, therefore, “it is not the single issue of the ship that is held at Port Said, but its legal and political setting which all the time is under consideration.”

Mr. Hammarskjold also clarified statements he had made at Buenos Aires to the effect that there was “no conflict” between the United Arab Republic and the United Nations. He explained that he considered a “conflict” existed only if a state stood condemned for basic violation of the Charter. But, he added, “if you mean to say there is a conflict between the UN and the UAR because they represent different stands, in that case I agree with you that is happening.”