The Soviet Union has not replied to a question submitted by Assistant Secretary of State Joseph Sisco to Soviet Ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin at bilateral talks in Washington concerning whether or not the Soviet Union accepted the concept of secure and recognized boundaries for Israel and if direct negotiations between the sides at some stage are envisaged by Moscow, informed sources said. The last Soviet document submitted in writing in the bilateral talks was in December. Everything since then has been confined to oral exchanges, the sources said.
(The Soviet Union denied Western press reports that it has been easing up on its attitude toward Israel. The Government newspaper Izvestia said in Moscow that the Soviet Union still insists on complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the occupied territories. It said that the Government still opposed Arab-Israeli negotiations, and that Western reports to the contrary were fabrications intended to create doubt about Soviet Mideast policy.
(In Washington, Israel’s Ambassador Yitzhak Rabin told television interviewers today, in response to questions about alleged Soviet peace moves in the Big Four meetings, that there has been no let-up in the Russian supply of arms to Egypt, Syria and Iraq. Appearing in the Evans-Novak Report, Gen. Rabin was asked about reported Russian support of direct talks between the Arabs and Israel if Israel paves the way by token withdrawals from occupied territory. The envoy said he was not aware of any change in the Russian position. He pointed out that Israel was not a party to the talks.)
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