Sparkman Says Present Period Calls for Quiet Diplomacy in the Mideast

Sen, John Sparkman (D.Ala.) said today with relation to the Middle East that “we are now in a period calling for quiet diplomacy” and urged sidetracking of all issues until “a suitable answer is found to the question of Palestinian nationalism.”

The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee offered his advice in a review of American foreign policy in a Senate speech. He declared that this is the time for “patience. to wait for the right moment for practical peace initiatives, and to discourage any state in the region from peremptorily altering the delicate balance.”

“Perhaps therefore,” he added,” it is just as well to circumvent, for the moment, the intractable issue of the Golan because it and other issues can be reduced to manageable proportions” when the Palestinian question is solved.

“The U.S. cannot, should not, and –I am confident–will not acquiesce in a final settlement which does not require the Palestinians to recognize Israel’s right to exist” within UN Security Council Resolution 242,” he said. Sparkman emphasized “final” in his prepared remarks.

MOVING AWAY FROM J/V AMENDMENT

Referring to the Soviet-American trade issue that is tied to Soviet emigration policy. Sparkman indicated he was moving away from the Jackson-Vanik Amendment although he did not mention it directly.

“When the trade issue is revived at some future date.” he said, “we should not try to connect it to the internal practices of the Soviet Union; however greatly we may deplore some of these.” Sparkman warned against becoming “dependent” on the Soviet Union for essential materials and said he is for “detente but I think it should have something for us as well as for the Soviets.”