World IN BRIEF : ISRAEL : Direct Flights for Soviets Ruled Out

In an apparent concession to Arab fears about a mass exodus of Soviet Jews to Israel, Soviet envoy Gennady Tarasov said in Tunisia that Moscow does not intend to allow direct flights to the Jewish state. The Soviet airline Aeroflot and the Israeli airline El Al signed an agreement on direct flights in December, but the Soviet government has not ratified it. Rumors of plans to establish direct air links “do not correspond to the reality,” Tarasov told reporters at Tunis airport. At the same time, he ruled out any measures to keep Jews in the Soviet Union and said it is up to the international community to ensure that they do not go to the occupied territories.