TEL AVIV: Israeli and Soviet diplomats will hold talks in Helsinki, probably later this month, about resuming bilateral consular contacts, senior Israel officials said today.
‘They were unable to confirm a Statement by a Soviet Foreign Ministry spokesman in Moscow that the group would move to Elavil after preparatory talks In Helsinki. The Finnish Embassy in. Tel Aviv now represents Russian interests in Israel.
In Helsinki, officials at the Finnish Foreign Ministry and Israeli Embassy said the Soviet and Israeli delegations would meet in the Finnish capital, but declined to give details,
The Soviet Union, together with other east bloc countries, broke off diplomatic relations with
Israel during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war,
Israeli officials said they did not know when the two delegations would meet, but added the group would probably get together before the end of this month.
They emphasized the talks would focus on consular contacts rather than full diplomatic relations,
They said there was no link to news that relatives of former Soviet Dissident Anatoly Shcharansky had received permission from Moscow to join him in Israel.
Article extracted from this publication >> August 8, 1986
