President Aref of Iraq, accompanied by 30 aides, arrived here today for three days of talks with President de Gaulle covering the recent oil agreements signed by France and Iraq, negotiations for French exploitation rights of Iraqi oil fields and the sale of modern aircraft and other arms to Iraq. President de Gaulle personally greeted the Iraqi president and said his visit to Paris at this time had “special significance,”
The Iraqis, it was reported, expect to conclude arrangements during President Aref’s stay here for the purchase of Mirage V Jet fighter-bombers, other types of aircraft and ground warfare equipment and for the training of Iraqi Air Force pilots in France.
(The Times of London reported from Paris today that there is no question of the 50 Mirage jets ordered by Israel before the June war being diverted to Iraq but said there is nothing to prevent Iraq from placing orders of her own. It pointed out that Jet planes ordered now would not be ready for delivery for 18 months, by which time the French embargo on arms deliveries to the Middle East would probably be lifted.)
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