President Nixon indirectly reassured Israel today of his continuing support of its “sovereignty” while Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger let it be known that Arab oil embargo will probably continue until the Arabs make some gains against Israel.
These points emerged after the President and Kissinger conferred at the White House with 10 Senators and 12 Representatives constituting the leadership of both parties in the Congress. The meeting, which lasted an hour and forty minutes, was devoted almost entirely to the Middle East, the energy crisis stemming from the embargo, and Soviet-American relations.
Senate Minority Leader Hugh Scott (R.Pa.) told newsmen afterwards that Nixon stressed the U.S. commitment to the “sovereignty of Israel” and that Israel’s “sovereignty should not be infringed upon” He said that Nixon noted that the U.S. is in a better position in the Middle East than the Soviet Union because the U.S. government has some communication with the Arab and Israeli leaderships; while the USSR does not
Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman J. William Fulbright (D.Ark.), in discussing the meeting with newsmen said that Kissinger had indicated that the oil embargo is unlikely to be withdrawn until the proposed Geneva conference produces progress for the Arabs. He said the Secretary was “hopeful” that the talks would begin in mid-Dec. Economic counter measures against the Arab states were not discussed at the meeting. Fulbright said. He and Scott both said there was no confirmation of nuclear weapons in Egyptian hands despite authoritative reports to the contrary in the past three weeks.
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