Thant Trying to Dispel Impression That Jarring Mission is Superceded by Rogers

United Nations Secretary General U Thant is trying to dispel a growing impression that the peace mission of UN mediator Dr. Gunnar V. Jarring may have been superceded by U.S. Secretary of State William P. Rogers’ current Middle East diplomacy. Responding to reports that he and Jarring agreed at a meeting here last week to suspend the Jarring mission at least temporarily until the results of Rogers’ present Mideast tour can be assessed, Thant told newsmen that the latest Rogers initiative was intended primarily to help Dr. Jarring continue with his mission. Thant said that the Swedish diplomat who is currently back at his ambassadorial post in Moscow would return to New York in mid-May. “We both agree that, although there is at present no real basis for Ambassador Jarring’s immediate return to New York, it will be desirable for him to be in New York for a short period about the middle of May for further exchange of information and views, that is between Ambassador Jarring and myself,” Thant said. Asked by reporters during a press conference here Thursday if this was because Secretary Rogers was attempting to get a partial agreement between Israel and Egypt to reopen the Suez Canal and there was consequently no need for Dr. Jarring to enter the picture, Thant replied that he and Dr. Jarring did not have in mind “any particular activity of any particular government.” He observed, “We took into consideration all factors, and both of us feel that there might be some justification for his return to New York about the middle of next month. Of course, the duration of his stay in New York will depend primarily on the nature of those developments.”

Thant stressed that Rogers’ try for an interim arrangement was exclusively an American initiative, although, he said, the U.S. government has briefed him on it. He said that he had been “briefed fully” by the American UN Ambassador. George Bush, before he went to Geneva and that Rogers assured him personally when they met in Costa Rica two weeks ago that “the efforts of the United States government in bringing about agreement regarding the Suez Canal were directed primarily to help Ambassador Jarring’s efforts.” Asked if Rogers’ visit to the Mideast might interfere with Dr. Jarring’s mission, Thant said the U.S. government assured him that its overall purpose was to help Dr. Jarring promote a settlement within the framework of the Security Council’s Resolution 242. He said his own personal assessment would have to await Rogers’ return. Asked if he had any reason to believe that the situation will be better for peace in mid-May than now, Thant said he felt only that there might be some developments in the next week or two that would justify further consultations between himself and Dr. Jarring in New York. Thant conceded that the Jarring talks are presently at an impasse but said he did not “want to apportion blame to any party.” He said that in general he believed “that now is the moment for the parties to move toward the full implementation of the Security Council resolution…Time is not on the side of peace. That is why I have been advocating and urging the parties to come to a speedy settlement.”