The State Department indicated today that a close watch was being kept on the situation on the Israeli-Syrian front. Department spokesman George Vest said at today’s press briefing, “We regard the Golan situation a matter of concern. That’s why we are interested in disengagement. As long as there is no stabilization it will remain delicate.” He said he had “no precise information on the size and activity of the forces” said to be massed by Syria. “The situation remains unstable as it has been right along,” he said.
Vest said he had no information on reports of a new Soviet arms airlift to Syria. He stated he was aware of yesterday’s joint Soviet-Egyptian communique that the Soviet Union would participate in every phase of the Middle East peace conference in Geneva. He noted that the USSR is a co-guarantor of the Geneva conference and that the Israeli-Syrian disengagement talks were within the aegis of the Geneva activities.
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