MR NEHRU IN VIENNA

Press, Volume XCI, Issue 27698, 30 June 1955, Page 13

MR NEHRU IN VIENNA

Existence Of Iron Curtain Denied (Rec. 8.30 p.m.) LONDON, June 29. Mr Nehru denied the existence of an Iron Curtain separating East and West, when he was commenting on his Moscow visit at a press conference, says the Vienna correspondent of the Associated Press. “I did not notice any iron curtain,” he said. He was convinced that the call for peaceful coexistence could have a far reaching echo “in spite of the fact that several nations, due to certain difficulties, are not very talkative about “There is no other alternative to coexistence than war. I am still following words of my great teacher, Gandhi: ‘Never bow to evil but be

kind to the evildoer. Hate the evil, but not the evildoer.’ Guided by this principle, the idea of coexistence should be acceptable to all,” he said. Mr Nehru advocated closer relations and a better understanding between nations not tied to anv military alliance.

He said, however, that a pact between these countries would contradict the basic principles of their policy! There was “justified hope” that the Big Powers now for the first time in many years might reach accord on disarmament. In reply to questions, Mr Nehru said he neither discussed European problems with the Kremlin during his recent visit to Moscow nor offered India’s good services to lessen the tension between East and West. He emphasised, however, that India would be very glad to help peace in an unobstrustive way. On the German question Mr Nehru said that even the Big Powers were favouring unification of Germany. The invitation extended by the Kremlin to the German Chancellor (Dr. Adenauer) was “a friendly approach by Moscow to create a better atmosphere for a solution of this problem.’’