U.S. to Continue Bilateral Aid Programs in Middle East, Dulles Says

The United States Government definitely envisages Israel’s situation as equal to that of the Arab states in current United Nations planning concerning both political and economic affairs in the Middle East, Secretary of State John Foster Dulles declared here at a luncheon given in his honor by the United Nations Correspondents Association.

Asked to comment on the fact that the Russians in recent statements concerning the Middle East have spoken often of “the Arab Middle East,” Mr. Dulles replied. “That expression, I suppose, reflects the will of the Soviet Union to create the impression among the Arab countries that it is anti-Israel. They think they would gain political advantage from that attitude. On the other side of the coin, we can recall that the Soviet Union was pro-Israel in 1947 but they seem to think now that the other side is more beneficial for them.

“True, it is obvious that in regard to economic aid, various countries must decide for themselves whether they want it or not, but the principles of the non-use of force and of non-aggression must have general applicability to the entire area, and not merely to one sector of the region,” Mr. Dulles emphasized.

Asked the meaning of a statement he made in his General Assembly address last Thursday to the effect that the United States Intends “to carry forward its existing development programs” in the Middle East, the Secretary said.

“We expect to keep going the Export-Import Bank, the Development Fund and other instruments of that type, apart from the regional, universal plans for economic activity in the Middle East. As to whether the regional plan should monopolize the economic program in the Middle East–there is only one answer: we believe that the regional plan should not do away with the bilateral programs. We believe that all avenues should be kept open.”