Secretary of State Dean Rusk said today that the United States had not had “a real response” to its request to Israel to permit the return of more Arab refugees to the occupied territories.
In response to questions on the ABC “Issues and Events” TV program, the Secretary said he thought that events “will give us our response.”
Mr. Rusk had told a press conference Friday that the displaced Arabs had not been responsible for the recent war and should be permitted to return to their former homes in what is now Israeli-occupied territory. He said the United States had made its views known on this score to Israel and that the future would tell “how far we will go in this regard.”
The Secretary of State said that “in general” he saw encouraging signs in the recent Arab summit conference at Khartoum, that the “realities” were becoming more apparent to both sides. He voiced hope that the forthcoming sessions of the United Nations would heed the voices of moderation and would be able to stabilize conditions in the Middle East. He pointed out, however, that those who lived in the area had the primary responsibility for peace there, and he remarked that a state of belligerency was not consistent with peace.
Mr. Rusk said that the American position remained that outlined by President Johnson in his five points. The United States delegation would do everything it could along these lines of approach in the forthcoming U.N. meetings, he said.
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