SOVIET AIRCRAFT TAXI-ING; PRESS PHOTOGRAPHERS; ALEXANDER BESEDIN DOWN STEPS; BESEDIN GREETED BY WALTER ROSTOW; HAND-SHAKING; ROSTOW SPEAKING. (NATURAL SOUND).



ROSTOW: " LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, IT'S A PLEASURE FOR ME TO HELP CELEBRATE THE OPENING OF REGULARLY SCHEDULED AIR SERVICES BETWEEN MOSCOW AND NEW YORK. NOT MANY YEARS AGO IT WOULD HAVE BEEN NEWS THAT AN AIRPLANE COULD TAKE OFF IN MOSCOW AND LAND IN NEW YORK A FEW HOURS LATER. TODAY WE TAKE SUCH MARVELS FOR GRANTED."




Initials GS/VS/BOB/ES



Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: THE FIRST COMMERCIAL AIR SERVICE BETWEEN MOSCOW AND NEW YORK HAS BEEN OPENED IN MAIDEN FLIGHTS BY SOVIET AND UNITED STATES PASSENGER AIRCRAFT. YESTERDAY (MONDAY) A SOVIET AEROFLOT JETLINER LANDED AT NEW YORK'S KENNEDY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, AND THEN TWO PAN AMERICAN BOEING 707'S TOOK OFF FOR MOSCOW VIA COPENHAGEN.

THE BIG FOUR-ENGINED SOVIET JET WAS LATE IN ITS ARRIVAL AT KENNEDY AIRPORT BECAUSE OF AIR TRAFFIC DELAYS. ON BOARD WERE ABOUT 60 SOVIET OFFICIALS, INCLUDING THE CHIEF OF THE FOREIGN RELATIONS DEPARTMENT OF THE MINISTRY OF CIVIL AVIATION, ALEXANDER BESEDIN.

HE WAS GREETED BY THE U.S. UNDER-SECRETARY OF STATE FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS, WALTER ROSTOW. THE SOVIET PERMANENT AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS, JACOB MALIK, AND THE PRESIDENT OF PAN AMERICAN, MR NAJEEB HALABY, WERE ALSO AT THE AIRPORT.

MR ROSTOW SAID IN A SPEECH THAT IT WAS A GOOD DAY FOR BOTH THE UNITED STATES AND RUSSIA. HE ADDED: "IT IS TOO BAD OUR MINDS CANNOT LINKED SO EASILY." THE SOVIET ILYUSHIN-62 FLEW FROM MOSCOW VIA MONTREAL IN 13 HOURS.

IN HIS WELCOME, MR ROSTOW HAD THIS TO SAY: