Soviet Contention That It Has No Personnel in Canal Area Ridiculed in Israel, U.S.

Political circles here ridiculed today the Soviet Union’s contention over the weekend that it has no personnel in the Suez Canal area, charging that Russians are manning not only the SAM-3 surface-to-air missiles there on Egypt’s behalf but even auxiliary units like anti-aircraft guns and Russian “defensive” aircraft. Foreign sources quoted in Israeli newspapers added that the Russians are training the Egyptian and Russian crews of the Soviet-made SAM-2 and SAM-3 missiles in the area and helping them move missiles from site to site. Moreover, the political circles added, the number of Soviet personnel manning SAM-2s is being increased. Sources put the number of operational missile sites within the 32-mile standstill area at 30, with almost 100 more ready to be made operational in an hour’s time. The total number of Soviet personnel at SAM-3 sites in the area was estimated by sources as at least 1,000, with 200 needed to man each of the SAM-3 sites Israel has complained about to the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO). Israel has in the past publicly put the overall total of Soviet personnel technicians and advisers on SAM-3s and SAM-2s–at 15,000. Political circles noted that even the SAM-3s in East Germany are manned by Soviet personnel, indicating that the Kremlin does not trust even its Communist allies to operate its missiles.

(The United States and the Soviet Union clashed verbally over the weekend on the issue of Soviet personnel in the standstill zone and Soviet complicity in Egypt’s standstill violations. Secretary of State William P. Rogers, in his first news conference at the State Department in more than three months, said that the USSR was guilty as charged “beyond a doubt,” and added that its heated denials in the face of the American evidence raised “serious questions” about the USSR’s professed desire for peace. The Soviet press agency, Tass, retorted that “There are not any grounds for accusing the Soviet Union of violating the terms of the agreement because, as it is known, the Soviet Union took no part in drafting any cease-fire terms and is not a party to any such agreements.” Tass added that the “so-called violations” were “a sheer fabrication,” and a “slander.” But the Communist Party newspaper Pravda, noted that “the defense potential of the United Arab Republic has grown” and that Soviet military aid “is the most important factor.” Mr. Rogers, for the first time, defined “rectification” of the missile situation as “a condition that would satisfy both parties.” It was not immediately clear how such a condition would be possible.