REACTION IN WASHINGTON

Press, Volume XCI, Issue 27680, 9 June 1955, Page 13

REACTION IN WASHINGTON

Discussion With U.S. Expected i (Rec. 10 p.m.) WASHINGTON. June 7l Diplomatic circles expected the German Chancellor, Dr. Konrad Adenauer, to discuss at his meeting with the Western Foreign Ministers next week the Soviet invitation for| him to visit Moscow, a Reuter corres-f pondent reported today. The possibility of Dr. Adenauer visiting Moscow before then was being ruled out, he said, on the ground that he was due to leave for a number of engagements in the United States early next week. * j, These include talks with PresidentEisenhower on June 14 and with the 1 Western Foreign Ministers shortly i after June 16. State Department officials refused to| make any comment upon this iateSti. dramatic Soviet move, which hasp obviously taken them by surprise. The view in Washington was that it would be inappropriate for the i United States to comment upon al proposal by the Soviet Union to the j German Federal Republic, which in I April became a free and sovereign j power. On the other hand, Germany at that ; time entered into alliances with West! European and North Atlantic Powers, i It was assumed, therefore, they correspondent said, that Germany y ( would consult with its allies on such il an important question as the opening ji of diplomatic and trade relations be- [ tween West Germany and the Soviet; Union ahd all that this involved ini relation to the ultimate unification j; of a free German/’ It was recognised that Soviet diplomacy, with its usual careful timing, had now injected an important new factor into Western preparations for their approaching conferences at San Francisco and Geneva with Soviet leaders: the prospect, or at least the possibility, of direct bilateral talks between the Soviet Union and Ger-

many. . Z t Most West German newspapers gave banner headlines to the Russian invitation. “Neue Rhein Zeitung” (Social Democrat), in Essen, said , the new Russian rulers were realists, “and what realists.’’ “The Federal German Chancellor should by all means travel to Moscow. What damage could it do? It could be useful for Germany even if Dr. Adenauer only learned what the Russians were prepared to do in the matter of German reunification.’’