Rumania last night reaffirmed its position that a Middle East peace settlement requires the total withdrawal of Israeli forces from the occupied Arab territories, That view was contained in a statement attributed to President Nicolae Ceausescu which was broadcast by Bucharest radio only hours after Premier Golda Meir returned to Israel from her three-day visit to Rumania.
Officials here would not comment on the broadcast but stressed that the Rumanian position was well-known and was spelled out by Ceausescu and Premier Ion Gheorghe Maurer during Mrs. Meir’s visit. It was not contained in the Joint communique released last night simultaneously in Jerusalem and Bucharest. That communique stressed the cordial atmosphere that attended Mrs. Meir’s visit and the desire for continuing close bilateral relations between Israel and Rumania. On international matters, including the Middle East conflict, the Joint statement resorted to generalities.
PALESTINIANS ENTITLED TO SELF-DETERMINATION
The Ceausescu statement was broadcast immediately following the reading of the text of the joint communique. It said that the Middle East problem should be settled within the framework of the Security Council’s Resolution 242 which Rumania regards as calling for the total withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Arab territories occupied in 1967. It also said that Rumania counts the Palestinians among the nations entitled to self determination.
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