BRITISH PRESS COMMENT

Press, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 27047, 23 May 1953, Page 7

BRITISH PRESS COMMENT

*BEST NEWS SINCE 1945” (Bee. 9 cm.) LONDON, May 22. liondon papers today welcomed the three-Power decision to hold the Bermuda talks. The “Daily Express” said: “Sir Winston Churchill moves steadily •long the path of peace. By bringing •bout such a meeting he reaches his first objective in what may be the most glorious endeavour of his career.” .The “Daily Mail” said: “The choice w Bermuda is an excellent one. It is • British island and an American base. It could be the best news we have had since 1945. ‘‘The first thing to note is that Sir Winston Churchill does not see the conference as an end in itself, but as a definite step toward a meeting of far greater import.” ‘The Times” said: “Sir Winston Churchill's piecemeal methods of ap- . proach are clearly most promising. It will be the duty of the men gathered at Bermuda to single out possible areas of agreement that might be discussed by a four-Power meeting." The “Daily Telegraph” says there « much satisfaction that Sir Winston Churchill will have the unusual opportunity to consult the Commonwealth Prime Ministers, who will be in London for the Coronation, immediately before the Bermuda meet“No step would be better desped to remove the recent transatlantic and trans-Channel misundergttdings. Other Atlantic nations and ffsmbers of the Commonwealth are e 5 welcome any disentangling 2f the divergencies among the three Powers.’ ’ ,_The diplomatic correspondent of Times” says Sir Winston Churchill's announcement came as a completely welcome surprise. He had •Wdently felt for some time that such • meeting was desirable. The sharp ®t>e of some public exchanges across me Atlantic might possibly nave been "Sponsible for hastening the decision. Trove.— The Coroner at ®emple Cloud, West England, yesterW seized for the Queen treasure “Ove of more than 500 gold and silver •am.-, believed to have been hidden "Oring England’s Civil War 300 years S°‘ coins were dug up by an iWßßVator roadmaking at a Somerset assuage.—London, May 22.

? he House of Cohunons. Sir Winston Churchill, who urged the need for East-West talks 10 days ago, said he hoped the Bermuda talks would enable them to “make a definite step forward to a meeting of far graver import.”

Mr Mayer, making the announcement for the French Government, told the National Assembly that the aim of the meeting would be to define a common attitude on questions to be discussed at a Four-Power meeting with the Soviet Union.

President Eisenhower’s statement from the White House only said that a primary purpose” of the informal meeting would be “further to develop common viewpoints on the many problems that must be solved cooperatively so that the cause of world peace may be advanced.” This statement did not mention Russia. Sir Winston Churchill said President Eisenhower had himself expressed a wish for a personal meeting between the three Western leaders. Mr Attlee, the Opposition leader, asked whether the Bermuda meeting Tnight be a preliminary, perhaps, to a talk with Mr Malenkov” and others He added: “We are all anxious to see if it is possible to bring the two sides together.”

“My Main Hope” ~T“ e House cheered when the Prime Minister replied: “Yes. It is mv main nope that we may take a definite step forward to a meeting of far graver import.”

Sir Winston Churchill said: “President Eisenhower has expressed a wish for a personal meeting with the French Prime Minister and myself to discuss our common problems. ~ “Her Majesty’s Government feels that such an exchange of views could only be of advantage at the present time.

It has been suggested that Bermuda, where incidentally there is an American base, would be a suitable meeting place. A dale shortly after June 15 would be convenient for the President, and so far as Her Majesty’s Government is concerned, it would enable discussions with the Commonwealth Prime Ministers to be completed in accordance with plans we i have already agreed with them. Arrangements are being made but the precise date has still to be finally settled.” Mr Mayer opened his statement about the meeting with a reply to criticism that he had failed to mention bir Winston Churchill’s speech about a four-Power meeting in his policy speech last week. ‘‘The discretion of the French Government was not an expression of any indecision, but rather due to recognition_of the importance of the matter. The French Government has not remained inactive. It has worked quietly through diplomatic channels, *md it has made its views known to the British and American Governments. .

‘The position taken by the French Government is shared by those in London and Washington. We believe that our stand is of a nature to serve peace and the fate of this country?* ..The deputies of all parties, except the Communists, welcomed the announcement of the meeting. Welcome in Britain Reuter’s political correspondent says that all parties in the British Parliament enthusiastically welcomed the announcement.

Former Socialist Ministers commented that one obvious purpose of the meeting was to clear up the recent differences of view and emphasis between Britain and America on vital issues.

But they added that in a wider sense nothing but good could come from the new round-table talks of British, American, and French statesmen at this juncture.

It was. they said, an indispensable preliminary to any top-level talks between the Western leaders and Russia. Many politicians believe that unless the right groundwork is laid for EastWest talks and the proper atmosphere is created in advance, a conference of world leaders may faff to produce the generally-hoped-for easjng of international tension.

For that reason they welcome the three-Power meeting as giving the Western statesmen an opportunity to satisfy themselves that they have a common approach to the many vital issues outstanding between East and West

Talks on Allied Unity The American Associated Press quoted diplomatic sources in Washington as having said that one purpose of the conference undoubtedly was to shore up faltering Allied unity which recently has been beset by various disruptive forces. President Eisenhower was represented as believing that a session with Sir Winston Churchill and the French leader would go a long way towards dispelling misunderstandings, and would dramatically symbolise the extent to which the United States, Britain, and France had common interests and common purposes. Problems that required understanding, if not co-operation, among the leaders of the Western Powers ranged from critical Far Eastern issues to difficulties of completing what the United States considered an adequate European defence system. In this connexion it was considered probable that President Eisenhower would want to raise with the French ratification, of the European defence treaties which would clear the way for German rearmament, the agency report added.