The French government will keep a careful watch over the newly announced federation of Egypt, Libya and Syria to make sure that 110 Mirage jets sold to Libya last year do not find their way into the Egyptian or Syrian airforces. A Foreign Ministry spokesman assured the Chamber of Deputies yesterday that France will enforce the clause of its contract with Libya barring transfer of the Mirages to a third power. The spokesman said France would halt delivery of the jets if it discovered they were going to other countries. The federation pact singed in Benghazi, Libya last Saturday by the presidents of Egypt, Libya and Syria calls for the integration of the armed forces of the three countries when the federation comes into force next September. The pact also stipulates that each member of the federation would respect treaties and agreements it concluded with other nations. Libya therefore would not be bound by its federation partners to abjure any clause of its contract with France. France is training Libyan pilots to fly the Mirages. According to reliable sources here, only 12 of the planes have been delivered to Libya to date, including two trainers. Deliveries are expected to be speeded up next year and completed in 1974. The newspaper Le Monde said yesterday that Libya will have received about 30 Mirages by next December. Government spokesmen have stressed that the Mirages were sold to Libya solely for defense purposes and could not be used against Israel except in self-defense.
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.
