The dispute between Israel and Syria over the reclamation of the Huleh swamps on the Israeli-Syrian frontier is “approaching a settlement,” Foreign Minister Moshe Shertok told a press conference here last night on the eve of his departure for the United States.
The Minster said that Israel’s foreign policy is based on keeping the country independent and maintaining its own interest as paramount. “Such a policy naturally leads us to an interest in maintaining world peace since Israel’s development is unthinkable without it,” he emphasized. “It also leads us to foster friendlier relations with those states which aid us and are likely to help us more in the future.”
Pointing out that the United States has extended to Israel loans and grants-in-aid besides permitting the U.J.A. and bond drives and that this “naturally draws us closer to them,” Mr. Sharett declared that “we are ready to accept similar things from any other nation willing to match the United States action.”
He said that his trip to the U.S. is meant primarily to aid the bond drive and the U.J.S. campaign and address the forthcoming Hadassah convention; the Foreign Minister added that he “may meet some U.S. Government officials.”
Earlier, he outlined to a Cabinet meeting the Israel position at the Paris conciliation talks. He said that Israel will raise the question of why it was called to the parley “if the Arabs do not want to talk with us?”
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