The United States and the Soviet Union are preparing at the United Nations for a knock-down fight on the Middle East, it was believed in diplomatic circles here today following the exchange of charges by Secretary of State John Foster Dulles and Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei A. Gromyko at the UN General Assembly this week-end. At stake was the body of world opinion and the UN voting power of 28 Afro-Asian members.
Yester day, the UN published a formal Soviet request to place the Middle East issue on the Assembly agenda. In a statement submitted to the UN yesterday, Mr. Gromyko denied Secretary Dulles’ charges that the Russians were risking a war in the Middle East by supplying Syria with arms. The Soviet Foreign Ministry blamed the United States for the Middle East crisis and denied that the Kremlin was inviting a war by shipping arms to the Arab State.
A spokesman for the American delegation indicated today that the United States would reply to the latest Soviet charges. This announcement set off new speculation about the American course in relation to Syria and the Middle East in general. It also opened the possibility that the United States might be preparing a new move in this direction, at the current Assembly session or through other channels. It was also reported here that consultations were under way among the United States and other Western delegations on a joint approach to the issue.
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