The United Nations has no immediate plans to implement the Middle East cease-fire called for in the joint U.S.-Soviet resolution adopted by the Security Council shortly after midnight. A UN spokesman said this morning that no UN role had been defined with regard to the resolution, “not even a contingent plan.”
According to the spokesman, further action by the UN must be in accordance with further Security Council resolutions. He noted that the same situation had prevailed when a cease-fire ended the Six-Day War in June, 1967:
Shortly after adoption of the resolution, a statement issued on behalf of Secretary General Kurt Waldheim said: “The Secretary General welcomes the adoption of the resolution by the Security Council (and) earnestly hopes that the fighting will cease and that the negotiations for a just and lasting peace settlement will be undertaken promptly and with determination.”
A UN spokesman disclosed that Waldheim got in touch with his special Middle East representative, Ambassador Gunnar V. Jarring, in Moscow immediately after the Security Council acted and cabled him the text of the resolution. The spokesman said Dr. Jarring might be here late today. Asked why there was no reference in the resolution to UN observers in the Middle East, the spokesman said he had no announcement as to their role in the implementation of the cease-fire He disclosed, however, that there are 220 UN observers presently in the Middle East. Asked if Syria has accepted the cease-fire, the spokes-man replied, “I don’t know.”
STATUS OF CEASE-FIRE IN MIDEAST
(In Tel Aviv the Israeli government instructed its armed forces to cease-fire at 6:52 p.m. after receiving information that the Egyptians ordered their army to cease-fire at that hour. Late this evening there was still no report from the Syrians as to their attitude toward the Security Council resolution. Jordan stated that it accepted the resolution and will instruct its forces in Syria accordingly. Iraq, on the other hand, has officially rejected the cease-fire resolution claiming she was not consulted.)
The UN spokesman said that the text of the resolution was sent to the governments involved–Israel, Syria and Egypt–immediately upon its adoption, but not to any other countries involved in the conflict. A U.S. spokesman said that discussions were continuing on various levels with the Secretary General and Security Council members but declined to give any details.
A spokesman for the United Kingdom said his government was “ready to play a full part toward a settlement.” He said Britain continued to maintain diplomatic contacts and that it had received notification of the draft resolution from the U.S. and USSR before it was presented in the Security Council. He also disclosed that the UK had been in contact earlier with the parties involved and had informed them that it intended to support the resolution.
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