WORLD : Soviets Urge U.S. to Press Israel
Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard A. Shevardnadze, saying “the Arabs have a legitimate concern,” called on the United States today to use its influence with Israel to stop the settlement of Soviet Jews in the Israeli-occupied Arab territories.
Speaking after two hours and 15 minutes of talks with Secretary of State James A. Baker III, the Soviet envoy said he urged that Washington “use all its authority to exert an adequate influence” so that new immigrants from the Soviet Union are not placed in the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
“We are presenting no more obstacles” to the emigration of Jews from the Soviet Union, Shevardnadze told reporters.
“But what preoccupies us very much is the problem of the installation of persons coming from the Soviet Union in the occupied territories. In this regard, the Arabs have a legitimate concern,” the Soviet foreign minister said.
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