The Liberian-registered cargo freighter, “Nord,” was allowed by United Arab Republic authorities to complete passage through the Suez Canal today after a 24-hour detention on suspicion that it carried an Israel cargo.
The UAR continued to keep under detention the Inge Toft, the Danish freighter which was seized May 21 at Port Said with its cargo of Israel potash and cement. The ship’s captain has refused to unload the cargo, which was ordered confiscated by an Egyptian “War Prize Court.”
The Soviet Union, for the first time in the newest Suez Canal crisis, entered the dispute with a charge over Radio Moscow that the United States was secretly supporting Israel at the expense of the UAR. Radio Moscow said that the United States “fully supports Israel and encourages it to exert pressure” on the United Arab Republic “but it is anxious that no one should get wind of this.”
Radio Moscow said that the United States was afraid to act openly because “this would nullify the results of the propaganda campaign designed to convince the Arabs that the United States has truly friendly intentions toward them.” The broadcast added a warning that the present Suez dispute “can develop into an armed Israeli attack against the UAR.”
The Nord was allowed to proceed after UAR officials confirmed that its cargo of scrap iron was loaded at Antwerp and bound for Japan. The UAR has asserted it will not permit any Israel cargoes through the Canal.
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