While the United Nations General Assembly was in recess during the weekend, Israeli Foreign Minister Abba Eban was busy discussing today the Arab-Israeli situation and the resolutions on the issue before the General Assembly as well as other actions being pressed behind the scenes.
The attention of all delegations at the General Assembly were directed today mainly to the summit conference at Glassboro, N.J., between President Johnson and Soviet Premier Aleksei N. Kosygin. Interest was also aroused here in the arrival of King Hussein of Jordan who will address the Assembly on the Israeli- Arab issues independently of the attitudes thus far maintained by other Arab leaders.
Mr. Eban’s activities included talks with U.S. Secretary of State Dean Rusk and Ambassador Arthur J. Goldberg, chief United States delegate. Britain’s Foreign Secretary George Brown; French Foreign Minister Maurice Couve de Murville. Prime Minister Ion Maurer of Rumania; the Foreign Ministers of Senegal and Ireland; and the Norwegian delegation,
Israel was understood to have explained, in the talks, that, in any Assembly action, peace negotiations were to be stressed before any withdrawal of Israeli forces from occupied areas were ordered. Israel rejected the French idea that no direct Arab-Israel talks were possible now.
RUMANIAN ATTITUDE ON ARAB-ISRAEL ISSUE PROVOKES SPECIAL INTEREST
A topic of conversation among the delegates of various countries during the weekend was the attitude taken at the General Assembly toward the Arab-Israel conflict by Rumanian Prime Minister Maurer. In his address before the Assembly, the Rumanian leader took quite a different stand than the other countries of the Soviet bloc. He appealed to the Arab states to recognize Israel and advocated direct Arab-Israel talks for a settlement of all differences.
The Rumanian Communist leader also stressed that Israel must retire to the June 5 armistice lines, but he did not make the request unconditional. In warning against “the use of force to assert a right,” he did not — as have all other Soviet bloc spokesmen, including Mr. Kosygin– single out Israel as the target of charges of aggression.
Rumania is the only Soviet bloc country which did not follow the lead of the Soviet Union in breaking diplomatic relations with Israel.
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
