Soviet Blocks U.S. Resolution on Sending Hammarskjold to Middle East

After two full sessions today or the American resolution proposing the peace mission to the Middle East by United Nations Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold, the Security Council postponed decision until tomorrow as the Soviet Union took, in the words of one of the Big Three leaders, a sledge hammer” approach to the entire problem.

The “sledge hammer” characterization was voiced by Britain’s Sir Pierson Dixon following introduction of USSR amendments which in the view of most observers here would transform the Washington sponsored resolution for pacification into an angry denunciation of Israel.

The Russian amendments would have the Council tie up with its mandate on Mr. Hammarskjold’s mission resolutions adopted in 1953 and 1956 which censured Israel for raids at Kibya and along the Gaza strip. The Russian resolution would keep Mr. Hammerskjold from piercing the Arab curtain in the so-called “defensive area” where Egypt’s massive military build-up is taking place. It would also instruct the Secretary General that he must not return with any recommendations for further pacification actions by the Council except “after agreement” to such recommendations by all four Arab signatories to the armistice pact and by Israel.

Ambassador Abba Eban spoke briefly at the afternoon session declaring Israel’s readiness to cooperate fully with Mr. Hammarskjold, but asking whether Mr. Hammarskjold would also not take time enough to look into various armistice pact violations like infiltration, failure to provide freedom of passage to shipping, and the reasons why the armistice agreements have not progressed toward peace talks.

Two of the Arab delegation leaders–Egypt’s Dr. Omar Loutfi and, Syria’s Ahmed Shukairy, deputy director general of the Arab League–will lead off the talk fest tomorrow morning. Meanwhile, it was made very clear this afternoon–not only by Sir Pierson but also by this month’s Council president, American delegate Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., and Herve Alphand of France–that the Western Big. Three are standing pat on the peace trip formula proposed originally by Mr. Lodge.

SOVIET DELEGATE SHYS WESTERN POWERS SEEK TO VIOLATE ARAB SOVEREIGNTY

Arkady Soboley of the USSR expressed himself as in agreement with basic objective of the American resolution for an on-the-spot examination of the Middle East tension, but saw an entirely different reason for such observation. The task is important now, he said, because the Western states “under the pretext of preventing a war, plan armed intervention in the area in violation of the rights of sovereign Arab states.” The Soviet delegate said he was ready to let Mr. Hammarskjold look into defensive areas providing he did not go beyond the jurisdiction of the UN’s truce supervision set-up.

Sir Pierson called for the adoption of the American resolution and accused Mr. Sobolev of having taken a “sledge hammer to crack some of the nuts to which he objects in the U. S. draft.” Mr. Lodge described various sections of the Sobolev amendments as going “back into the past without accomplishing anything constructive” as “fallacious,” and as an effort “to put the cart before the horse.”

There was a feeling among diplomats here when the Council adjourned until tomorrow that the Soviet Union would probably not veto the American resolution, contenting itself with having made the record clear as to Russia’s desire to please the Arab delegations and make of Mr. Hammarskjold’s projected Middle Eastern trip as much of an empty gesture as possible.