A highly placed source said here today that Kurt Waldheim, Secretary General of the United Nations, would be most welcome in Israel if he decided to visit this country. The source referred to a statement by Waldheim yesterday during an interview on “Meet The Press” television program in the US that he might personally look into the Middle East dispute if that would seem useful. The source told newsmen that he was sure any UN member state would welcome a visit by the Secretary General.
Foreign Minister Abba Eban said today that it might be more realistic at the moment to strive for an interim agreement with Egypt to reopen the Suez Canal than to try to reactivate the peace mission of UN mediator Gunnar V. Jarring. Eban added, however, that if Dr. Jarring was able to disengage himself from his Feb, 8 memo asking Israel for a commitment to withdraw to its old international boundaries with Egypt, Israel would have no objection to continue negotiations for an overall settlement under Dr. Jarring’s auspices. Eban addressed a visiting delegation of Britain’s Labor Friends of Israel.
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.
