February 27, 1973

Meir hopes incident will not interfere with negotiations toward peace settlement in Middle East, news conf, Washington, DC, at start of 10-day US visit; says she is 'convinced that 'tragedy' could be separated from pol issues, adding that effect of 'this great tragedy' may 'highlight' that moment has arrived for Israelis and Arabs to make plans on how to live together

Internatl conf on Vietnam opens, Feb 26, Paris; there are formal congratulations on the achievement of the truce accords, but also evidence of continuing disagreements and reminders that the fighting has not stopped in Vietnam, or in the rest of Indochina; session ends with no sign of a compromise on a plan of action should the cease-fire break down; US and Hanoi negotiators reptdly have drawn up a draft declaration for the conf in private talks, with points of agreement and disagreement to be submitted to all the participants; one point of disagreement reptdly is problem of continuing responsibility for the cease-fire; Canadian Sec M W Sharp suggests that UN Sec Gen be empowered to call the 13-party conf back into session if fighting is resumed; plan draws general approval from Sec Rogers but is rejected by Vietcong repr Ly Van Sau; reiterates Canada's pledge to withdraw from all responsibility unless better arrangements are made for supervising the cease-fire; major powers at conf seem content that the cease-fire situation is reasonably in hand; Rogers suggests that conf could be reconvened on demand of 6 members; there does not seem to be possibility of compromise before scheduled signing of a final conf declaration on questions of reconstruction aid and of cease-fire and neutrality in Laos and Cambodia; conf illus

session, Feb 26

Hanoi spokesman in Saigon Col Bui Tin says there will be no further release of Amer POWs 'until the US stops concentrating their efforts on getting back POWs while failing to correctly implement the Paris agreement'; charges US encourages Saigon to create obstacles and difficulties for the joint mil comm; says Saigon Govt has conducted 20,000 mil operations since the cease-fire began a month ago; says he is aware of the feeling of the families of Amer POWs, but calls attention to similar feelings of Vietnamese families whose members are being detained by S Vietnam; says US and Saigon must correctly implement the truce accord; says Hanoi is demanding solution by the mil comm of both the release of mil POWs and civilian detainees; demands that this round of prisoner releases center on civilian detainees; Saigon rejects this proposal; Tin charges that Communist delegations to the mil comm have been subjected to 'provocation, isolation and, in some cases, violence'; says Saigon Govt does not have any goodwill for peace; Communists charge Saigon hired 'hooligans' to attack N Vietnamese officers in Da Nang and Hue on Feb 25; these incidents are believed to have been inspired by local authorities, either acting on orders from Saigon or convinced that Saigon would approve their actions; Saigon charges Communists placed 3 missile sites in area within 3 mi of Khe Sanh airstrip in NW corner of S Vietnam; asks probe by control comm, charging a truce violation

Agr Dept repts on Feb 26 that food prices rose sharply in 1st full wk after dollar devaluation; Brookings Inst economist L Krause confirms outlook for more 'disappointing figures' in near future; holds that rise in wholesale price index could be expected for Feb; notes that apparent link between increasing food prices and dollar devaluation is increased export demand; says that export buyers are bidding for same commodities as domestic buyers in a mkt where supply is limited and sudden increases restricted; adds that soaring prices last wk might reflect an 'immediate adjustment' to devaluation; asserts, however, that wholesale food prices could ease off later in spring as result of expected new supplies