Foreign Minister Max van der Stoel has relieved Charles Thurkow of his duties as Foreign Office spokesman. Thurkow has held the post for the last three years. In an official communique, the Foreign Minister stated that recent events made it very difficult, if not impossible for Thurkow to continue his duties as spokesman.
Last Tuesday, in a weekly talk with journalists, Thurkow said that the Dutch Mideast policy had changed and now demands Israel’s withdraw al from all the areas it has occupied since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. Van der Stoel strongly denied Thurkow’s statement upon his return from the Euro market Ministers’ meeting in Brussels.
Earlier a government spokesman said. The Netherlands’ Mideast policy remained “unchanged.” He denied that Holland had revised this policy in favor of pre-1967 borders for Israel. He added that Thurkow did so entirely on his own authority and in the absence of van der Stoel.
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