The Soviet Government today ranged itself squarely against freedom of navigation for Israeli shipping in the Gulf of Akaba, and charged that a secret American-Israel agreement has been concluded for the construction of a pipeline and railroad from the Israel port of Elath to the Mediterranean.
The views of the Soviet Government were expounded in Izvestia, official government organ, which asserted that the attempt of the Eisenhower Administration to guarantee” Israeli transit in the Gulf of Akaba amounted to a guarantee of violation of Egyptian sovereignty.”
Izvestia charged that the alleged secret American-Israeli agreement for an Elath-Mediterranean pipeline and rail link was a device to bypass the Suez Canal, and that the reported secret agreement showed how far American imperialists were prepared to go in attempts to “blockade” Egypt.
Western claims that American policy sought to bring about an Israel-Arab peace lies intended to hide American plans to dominate the region, Izvestia asserted. The Soviet organ added that Israeli leaders in their “fresh and frank declarations” of preparations for a “new aggression” against Egypt, were relying on American support.
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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.
