World

Ever since a debate over whether to accept the credentials of Israel's U.N. delegation became an annual event in 1982, the Soviet Union has sided with Arab countries and voted against seating representatives of the Jewish state. Last week Moscow abstained on the matter. It was the latest sign of a warming trend between the two countries, which have had no diplomatic relations since the Six-Day War in 1967. Better weather seems to be on the way. Shimon Peres, Israel's Finance Minister and leader of the Labor Party, has tentatively accepted a Soviet invitation to visit Moscow. Said a Western diplomat in the Soviet capital: "I wouldn't be surprised if diplomatic relations are restored within the next year."