Secretary-General U Thant strongly supported today the efforts of the Big Four to bring about peace in the Mideast. He said that Dr. Gunnar V. Jarring, his special peace envoy, is not inclined to repeat “futile efforts” for another 17 months as he has done until now. Addressing the United Nations Correspondents Association, he said, “I pin my hope on the success of the Big Four deliberations which, he said, were “important” to the Jarring mission. He especially “welcomed” the Big Four meetings. “Active involvement” of the Big Four is “essential,” he said, adding that without such major power talks, he does not see that a lasting peace is possible.
Mr. Thant said that Dr. Jarring acted with wisdom and tact but so far no progress has been made. “And I don’t believe he will do it for another year and a half,” he said. He pointed out that Dr. Jarring has never resigned as Sweden’s Ambassador to Moscow and still holds the position, implying that he will fully resume that post if his mission does not succeed. He has returned to it temporarily.
Replying to a question about what he thought of the role of the Palestine commandos at present, he said that when a solution is too long delayed, extremists come to the forefront and the voice of the moderates becomes still. Regarding Israel’s position on the Security Council’s Nov. 22, 1967 resolution, he said that judging from public statements of Israeli leaders, Israel has accepted it but there has been no clear statement on implementation.
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.
