The World - News from Feb. 26, 1988

The Soviet Union will resume full diplomatic relations with Israel the first day a Middle East peace conference convenes, a senior Soviet official said. The official, speaking on condition he not be identified or directly quoted, said Moscow would also establish normal diplomatic ties at the same time with Saudi Arabia. The official told a small luncheon gathering in Moscow that a Middle East peace conference should be convened as soon as possible under U.N. auspices with the participation of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council. The Soviet Union broke off its ties with Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War.