Prime Minister Levi Eshkol told the Cabinet today that France’s position on the basic questions of the Middle East conflict have not changed. He reported on Foreign Minister Abba Eban’s talks with French Foreign Minister Michel Debre in Paris last week. In contrast, Italy’s Foreign Minister, Giuseppe Medici, expressed his country’s agreement with many of Israel’s basic aims, including the attainment of peace in the Middle East, Mr. Eshkol said.
Foreign Minister Eban met with M. Debre Friday in what was the first meeting on a ministerial level between Israel and France since the June, 1967 war. The meeting was described as “frank and cordial” and was said to have been the occasion for a general review of Franco-Israeli relations during which two matters were brought up. One was France’s year-long embargo of 50 Mirage V jets which Israel bought and paid for: the other was France’s position at the 23rd session of the United Nations General Assembly. On leaving the French Foreign Office, Mr. Eban said he would like to consider the meeting the start of a “new dialogue” between France and Israel.
Mr. Eshkol, in a Tel Aviv speech, denounced Soviet leaders for “seeing fit once again to spread malicious tales about aggressive intentions of Israel, of all countries.” Referring to Tass statement charging Israel with “dangerous provocations” against the Arab countries, he told veterans of the brigade which defended Tel Aviv during the 1948 Liberation War that the Soviets were circulating slanders “just as they did prior to the Six-Day War when they spread vicious lies of alleged Israeli concentrations on the Syrian border.”
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