Premier Moshe Sharett of Israel personally pleaded his country’s case today in separate private meetings with Secretary of State John Foster Dulles and British Foreign Secretary Harold Macmillan.
It was understood here that Mr. Sharett pointed out the dangerous situation created by the apparent Soviet alignment with the Arabs. It is understood that he pledged Israel would do everything in its power to prevent a new conflagration but it was essential that she be armed to meet the new threat to her security.
He pointed out that the growing arms supplies to the Arab States from many quarters had undermined the Tripartite Declaration of 1950 which undertook to maintain the balance of power between Israel and the Arab States. Mr. Sharett reportedly told the Western diplomats that Israel now had to ask for a precise guarantee of her security.
Mr. Sharett, accompanied by Ambassador Abba S. Eban, conferred with Secretary Dulles for 90 minutes in the home of the American Ambassador to Paris. Mr. Sharett later described the talk as “frank and friendly.” He said it was confined mainly to Middle Eastern problems in the light of the very latest developments from the international angle and from the Israel viewpoint. He confirmed that arms purchases and the problem of guarantees were discussed.
Mr. Sharett commented that he was happy to have had an opportunity to go fully into all these problems. Mr. Dulles, he said, developed a number of ideas the discussion of which, because of the shortage of time, they were unable to complete. They therefore agreed to meet again in Geneva.
Mr. Sharett described his meeting last night with Premier Edgar Faure of France as “general in character” and in the nature of a courtesy visit. He said his meeting in Geneva with Foreign Minister Antoine Pinay would be “more concrete.”
Mr. Sharett will leave for Geneva by air tomorrow morning. The Israel envoys to the United States, Britain, France and the Soviet Union, with whom he has been conferring here, will also proceed to Geneva.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
