Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger has reported to Congressional leaders that Syria has “assured” the United States that “it would not give encouragement to Palestinian terrorists.” The Jewish Telegraphic Agency was apprised of Kissinger’s report by Rep. Robert Wilson (R.Cal.), a member of the House Armed Services Committee who attended a 90-minute briefing by Kissinger with President Nixon at the White House Friday on the Secretary’s mission to the Middle East.
Rep. Wilson said the Congressmen were told by Kissinger that Israel and Syria had given “assurances” to the U.S. to provide “protection against terrorists.” Asked about a letter of assurance to Israel on that issue. Wilson said the letter “evidently” involved one of the last snags that had to be unravelled before a disengagement agreement was reached and that it was only by U.S. assurance to Israel that “our full diplomatic force would be used to assure some protection” that the agreement could be reached.
Nixon and Kissinger conferred at the White House yesterday with United Nations Secretary General Kurt Waldheim before the latter’s departure on a visit to the Middle East. Kissinger told reporters later that he had brought the Secretary General up to date on the latest stage of disengagement.
Kissinger, who returned from the Middle East early Friday morning, told reporters at Andrews Air Force Base that “We should remember, as the President said in his statement” announcing the disengagement accord Wednesday “that this is Just, and perhaps, the smallest step toward achievement of a just and permanent peace in the Middle East. We all take some pride in the fact that it was the United States that could play the role of mediator and that it was the United States that was trusted by both sides to interpret the views of each side to the other with fairness.
NIXON TO VISIT MIDEAST
The White House announced meanwhile that President Nixon would make an official visit to the Soviet Union, starting June 27 but was silent on reports that the President would visit the Middle East within the next ten days — a trip informed sources here seem almost certain he will make.
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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.
