Egypt is not altering its position on its anti-Israel blockade of the Suez Canal in spite of the overwhelming support for Israel’s case voiced by 28 delegations in the general debate of the current General Assembly.
The fact that Egypt is refusing to change its stand became evident today when it was learned that, thus far, Dr. Mahmoud Fawzi, Egypt’s foreign minister, has refused to make a single concession during his talks with UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold on the issue. Mr. Hammarskjold has held three conferences on the subject with Dr. Fawzi.
The 28th delegation at the UN to back free navigation for all through the Suez Canal was that of India. India’s Defense Minister V. K. Krishna Menon, addressing the UN General Assembly last night said that his country supports freedom of navigation in accordance with the Constantinople Convention of 1888. He recommended that the Suez issue as it stands now before the UN should be brought before an arbitration commission.
The Soviet delegation went out of its way here today again to brand Israel, Britain and France, as nations who “committed aggression against Egypt in 1956.” This was done in a statement issued by the USSR delegation denying a report allegedly printed in some American newspapers to the effect that the Soviet Union intends to reconsider its negative position with regard to the United Nations Emergency Force and is ready to participate in the financing of UNEF.
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.
