ABSTRACT
Since the end of the October 1973 Middle East war, the two have been trying hard to seize the initiative for a so-called "peaceful solution" to the Middle East question, one seeking its "step-by-step solution" and the other favoring its Geneva Conference approach. The United States, Ford announced, would oppose any stagnation or stalemate in the Middle East situation. As the Times of London put it, the Soviet envoys' mission was to urge the Israeli leaders to "renounce the United States' step-by-step approach to a Middle East settlement." The key to the complete solution of the Middle East problem rests on the fighting unity of the Arab people. A Western news agency pointed out that it represented "a major development" in Moscow's Mediterranean and Middle East policy and that it indicated the Kremlin's intention to "seek new friends among the Mediterranean and Arab countries.
