U.S. Advocates Direct Arab-Israel Talks with ‘appropriate Third Party Assistance’

The United States introduced today in the emergency session of the General Assembly a resolution calling among other matters for negotiations between the Arab states and Israel "with appropriate third party assistance" on all issues resulting from the third Arab-Israel war, including "disengagement and withdrawal of the military forces now in Israeli-held Arab areas. The resolution was presented by Ambassador Arthur J. Goldberg.

After noting that the Security Council had overwhelmingly rejected a Soviet resolution which was, in essence, reintroduced in the Assembly yesterday by Soviet Premier Alexsei Kosygin, Mr. Goldberg proposed the following resolution.

"Bearing in mind the achievement of a cease-fire in the Middle East as called for by the Security Council in its resolutions; having regard to the purpose of the United Nations to be a center for harmonizing the actions of nations, the General Assembly:

"1. Endorses the cease-fire achieved pursuant to the resolutions of the Security Council and calls for its scrupulous respect by the parties concerned:

"2. Decides that its objective must be a stable and durable peace in the Middle East;

"3. Considers that this objective should be achieved through negotiated arrangements with appropriate third party assistance, based on: a. Mutual recognition of the political independence and territorial integrity of all the countries in the area, encompassing recognized boundaries and other arrangements, including disengagement and withdrawal of forces, that will give them security against terror, destruction and war; b. Freedom of innocent maritime passage; c. Just and equitable solution of the refugee problem; d. Registration and limitation of arms shipments into the area; e. Recognition of the right of all sovereign nations to exist in peace and security;

"4. Requests the Security Council to keep the situation under careful review."

"This resolution," Mr. Goldberg said, "embodies the five principles which President Johnson identified yesterday as fundamental to durable peace. Our objective in offering this resolution is to encourage a decision by the warring parties to live together in peace and to secure international assistance to this end. It is necessary to begin to move — not some day, but now, promptly, while the memory of these tragic events is still vivid in our minds — toward a settlement of the outstanding issues and truly there must be progress toward all if there is to be progress toward any."

REJECTS KOSYGIN’S RESOLUTION TO CONDEMN ISRAEL AS AN AGGRESSOR

After rejecting the resolution introduced by Premier Kosygin yesterday, Mr. Goldberg told the Assembly: "Under this Soviet proposal Israel is to be condemned as an aggressor — though surely, in the light of all the events, both recent and long past, that led up to the fighting, it would be neither equitable nor constructive for this organization to issue a one-sided condemnation." He then noted that "the heart" of the Soviet proposal could be in effect stated as follows: "Israel, withdraw your troops and let everything go back to exactly where it was before the fighting began on June 5."

Such a resolution, he added, would be tantamount to running the film backward "through the projector to that point in the early morning of June 5 when hostilities had not yet broken out." Asking what the situation would then be. Mr. Goldberg said:

"Once again opposing forces would stand in direct confrontation, poised for combat. Once again, no international machinery would be present to keep them apart. Once again, innocent maritime passage would be denied. Once again, there would be no bar to belligerent acts and acts of force. Once again, there would be no acceptance of Israel by her neighbors as a sovereign state, no action to solve the tragic refugee problem no effective security against terrorism and violence. Once again, in short, nothing would be done to resolve the deep-lying grievances on both sides that have fed the fires of war in the Middle East for 20 years. And, once again, there would be no bar to the arms race in the area."

following Mr. Goldberg, Syria’s president Noreddin Atassi addressed the Assembly. He declared "we reject any conditions or negotiations based on aggression." He stated that the Syrian Government "welcomes" the draft resolution introduced by the Soviet Union yesterday and added that "any other resolution" aiming at the United States draft, would be "firmly rejected." Czechoslovakia also told the Assembly that it would reject the United States draft and firmly support the Soviet proposals.