Waldheim Hopes Jarring Will Renew Mission; Refuses to State Views on General Assembly Resolution

United Nations Secretary General-elect Kurt Waldheim said in a taped interview broadcast on Israeli television that he hoped UN mediator Dr. Gunnar V. Jarring would be able to resume his Middle East peace mission. But he refused to state his views on a recent General Assembly resolution asking Israel to comply with Dr. Jarring’s request for a commitment to withdraw to its old international boundaries with Egypt. The Austrian delegation, headed by Waldheim, voted for the resolution.

The 53-year-old diplomat stated in the interview that until he officially assumes the office of Secretary General on Jan. 1 he could not comment on a matter in which the views of the outgoing Secretary General U Thant are on record. He added that he could not express himself privately inasmuch as having been elected, none of his views could be regarded as “private.”

(In New York, Waldheim said today on the nationally televised program “Face the Nation,” that he will personally take a hand in the problems of the Middle East. He said that while the peace-seeking mission of Dr. Jarring would continue its efforts to achieve a settlement between Israel and her Arab neighbors, he will assess the situation and try to see what he could do personally.)

IN GERMAN ARMY, BUT HAD NO CHOICE

Foreign Ministry officials today dismissed a Friday report in the Cairo newspaper Al Ahram which claimed that Waldheim said it was difficult to see how the Jarring mission could continue without a favorable Israeli response to Jarring’s Feb. 8 memo asking for a withdrawal commitment. The officials said that a diplomat of Waldheim’s standing and experience could not possibly have said what was attributed to him by Al Ahram.

(The Austrian UN Mission in New York told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency on Friday that Waldheim’s personal approach to the Mideast question will not be exercised until he takes office. The spokesman would not say how–or if–his personal approach would differ from his government’s official policy. The Mission spokesman noted that Waldheim’s vote in the General Assembly for the Egyptian-inspired resolution was cast on instructions from Vienna.)

Waldheim answered questions on the Israeli TV program regarding his past record. He had been a lieutenant in the German Army during World War II but was never a Nazi Party member. He said his family had an anti-Nazi record and his father was dismissed from the Austrian civil service at the time of the Anschluss because of his anti-Nazi views. Of his military service. Waldheim said, “We had to serve, whether we wanted to or not. There was no choice.”