Soviet-Israeli Talks Set for Mid-August in Finnish Capital
The Soviet Union and Israel will begin negotiations in Helsinki later this month aimed at reopening consulates in Tel Aviv and Moscow, the Foreign Ministry spokesman said today.
A Soviet delegation will meet Israeli representatives in the Finnish capital in mid-August to discuss the agenda for the negotiations, then fly on to Tel Aviv for the talks, spokesman Gennady Gerasimov said.
Sources in Israel said the talks were scheduled to start Aug. 16 or 17 in Helsinki.
The Soviet-Israeli talks would be the first such meeting since Moscow severed diplomatic relations with Israel in 1967 after the third Arab-Israeli war.
Gerasimov said the talks do not reflect a change in Soviet policy toward Israel. Soviet officials have repeatedly stated that full diplomatic relations with Israel will not be renewed until there is a negotiated peace in the Middle East.
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