Gunnar Jarring, a veteran Swedish diplomat was believed today to be United Nations Secretary General U Thant’s choice as the emissary to be sent to the Middle East under a Security Council resolution adopted unanimously yesterday.
The resolution, proposed by Britain, called for withdrawal of Israel from occupied Arab territories, termination of all claims of belligerency, acknowledgement by all parties of respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political dependence of all states in the area. It also proposed acceptance of the right to live in peace by all states within recognized and secure boundaries, free from threats or acts of force.
The resolution also called for guarantees of freedom of navigation through international waterways in the area, for a Just settlement of the refugee problem and for guarantees of the territorial inviolability and political Independence of every state in the area through measures Including creation of demilitarized zones.
The resolution instructed the Secretary General to designate a special representative to proceed to the Middle East “to establish and maintain contact with the states concerned in order to promote agreement and assist efforts to achieve a peaceful and accepted settlement in accordance with the provisions and principles of the resolution.” The resolution asked the Secretary General to report to the Security Council on the progress of efforts of the special representative as soon as possible. Mr. Thant was expected to act before the end of the week in naming the emissary. Mr. Jarring, the Swedish ambassador to the Soviet Union, served as a UN mediator in the Pakistan-India dispute and has been his country’s envoy to the United States.
UNANIMOUS VOTE FOR BRITISH RESOLUTION SEEN AS SURPRISE
The unanimous adoption of the British resolution came as a surprise. The Soviet Union introduced a draft resolution earlier in the week, which made no mention of a special Mideast emissary. That resolution, along with drafts by the United States and an Indian-Mali-Nigeria resolution, was withdrawn, paving the way for approval of the British draft.
(Sources in Jerusalem expressed satisfaction with the Security Council action and added the hope that termination of belligerence would be interpreted to mean a call for the end of unremitting Arab propaganda threats.)
Abba Eban, Israel’s Foreign Minister, told the Security Council that Israel would “maintain and respect the cease-fire agreement until it is replaced by peace treaties, ending the state of war, determining the agreed and secure national frontiers of states and ensuring a stable and mutually guaranteed security,”
(President Nasser of Egypt, in his first address to the Egyptian National Assembly since the June war, said he would not recognize Israel and would refuse Israel use of the Suez Canal. He boasted that Egypt had been rearmed to a position of greater military strength than before the June war. He declared that Egypt could now take “effective action against the enemy.” This was viewed as a reference to the sinking of the Israeli destroyer Elath off Sinai on October 21 by Egyptian missile boats. He also told the Assembly that Egypt was incapable of preventing Israeli forces from driving into Cairo at the time of the cease-fire last June,)
Diplomats at the UN characterized the British resolution today as a document of “careful ambiguity” but also as a serious setback for the Middle East policies of the Soviet Union. They noted that the Soviets failed, at a special emergency session of the General Assembly last June, to obtain approval for the demands voiced by Premier Kosygin at the session for immediate Israeli withdrawal, condemnation of Israel as aggressor in the June war and payment by Israel of compensation to the defeated Arab countries.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
