Says Soviet Gave Notice of Disapproval of Jarring Formula for Direct Talks

Yakob Malik, chief of the Soviet Mission to the United Nations, told the Israeli chief delegate, Ambassador Yosef Tekoah at a secret meeting, that the Soviet Union does not approve of U.N. peace envoy Gunnar Jarring’s formula calling for a meeting between Arab and Israeli representatives under his auspices, the morning daily Davar reported here today. The paper said the meeting took place some time ago at U.N. headquarters in New York.

Ambassador Gunnar Jarring, will return here Wednesday for talks with Gideon Rafael, director-general of the Foreign Ministry. He is scheduled to visit Cairo on Thursday. Dr. Jarring will meet with Mr. Rafael in the absence of Foreign Minister Abba S. Eban who is on an official tour of the Scandinavian countries.

According to Davar, Mr. Malik told Ambassador Tekoah that the Jarring formula was not acceptable to the Arabs because it does not contain safeguards for the “implementation” of last November’s Security Council resolution on the Middle East. The resolution called for an agreement between both sides on certain issues including the withdrawal of Israeli forces from occupied territories. The Arabs and the Soviet Union have been interpreting the resolution as a blanket order for Israel’s withdrawal without any prior agreements between the two sides.

Observers here said today that the Davar report was further proof that the Soviet Union was behind Arab intransigence over talks with Israel. They noted that the United States had been urging Jordan to meet with Israel and that Dr. Jarring’s efforts for the past few weeks have been centered around bringing such a meeting about. But the Russians instructed Egypt to warn Jordan away from talks with Israel. The Russians believe that such talks would be interpreted as an American success, it was said here.