Stewart Tells Fawzi That Britain Reserves Right to Sell Arms in Mideast

Foreign Secretary Michael Stewart informed an emissary of Egypt’s President Gamal Abdel Nasser yesterday that Britain reserved the right to supply arms to any country in the Middle East, including Israel, unless and until an arms embargo is placed on the region by the Big Powers. Mahmoud Fawzi reportedly warned that any major arms sales would hurt Britain’s relations with the Arab countries. He reportedly urged a step-by-step implementation of the UN Security Council’s Nov. 22, 1967 Mideast resolution. This method would require Israel’s withdrawal from occupied Arab territories before any other parts of the resolution became operative.