Despite world concern for the grave situation in the Middle East resulting from the role of the Russian pilots flying defense missions in Egypt, the UN today continued a business-as-usual routine. A UN spokesman said there were no meetings scheduled either by the Security Council or by Secretary General U Thant to discuss the situation. U.S. Ambassador Charles W. Yost and Soviet Ambassador Yakov Malik were scheduled to meet separately later today with Mr. Thant, but a UN spokesman said he did not know the nature of the meetings or who had called them. Newsmen expressed surprise on learning that Mr. Malik was to meet with Mr. Thant in view of the reports that the ambassador was ill. (Illness was given as the reason for Mr. Malik’s absence from Wednesday’s Second National Convocation on the Challenge of Building Peace, held in New York by the Fund for Peace.)
Asked why the UN seems to play little or no part in the Mideast situation, which is fraught with severe and immediate danger, a UN spokesman simply smiled, but refrained from commenting. He also declined comment when asked why Ambassador Gunnar V. Jarring, who was scheduled to return within a few weeks after leaving UN headquarters March 26–or, as it was announced at that time, “or sooner if developments warrant it”–was not returning to New York, in view of the new developments. While here, Dr. Jarring consulted with representatives of Israel, the Arab states and the Big Four powers. His efforts, during his three weeks in New York, to find a basis for bringing Israelis and Arabs together for negotiations ended unsuccessfully.
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