DEADLOCK AT GENEVA

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28821, 16 February 1959, Page 11

DEADLOCK AT GENEVA

Control Post Staffing tNJt. Press Association—Copyright) GENEVA, February 13. The Soviet Union raised new objections today to the international staffing of control posts, and thereby deepened ~a basic East-West dispute holding up progress in the nuclear weapons test suspension conference, the American Associated Press reported. The Russians did more than turn thumbs down on international manning of such stations located on the territories of the three atomic Powers themselves. They now said that they would have no confidence in such a manning system for posts set up in such countries as India, Sweden. and Mexico, which possess no atomic weapons. The chief Soviet delegate (Mr Semyon Tsarapkin) raised this point at a three-hour and tenminute session of the now completely deadlocked conference. Integrity Questioned They questioned the integrity of international personnel. How, they asked, could Russia be assured that her name was not falsely blackened by such people? How would Russia know whether these people 'would cover up for the United States and Britain in case the two Western Powers cheated on a test ban? The chief American delegate, Mr James J. Wadsworth, and Mr David Ormsby-Gore of Britain again stated—as they have for several days—that international manning offers the only true guarantee of a workable control system; 180 Control Posts If a test suspension treaty ultimately is drafted in Geneva ft is expected to provide for 180 control posts scattered throughout the world. The Russians said these stations should be operated entirely by citizens of the countries in which they are located. Each one would have four or five supervisors sent there by the three atomic Powers. They insisted that this national staffing concept should apply for all stations whether located in nuclear or non-nuclear countries. The Western plan for stations in non-nuclear countries is that the staff in each station would be divided this way: one third combined American and, British, one third Soviet and one third neutral.

The two Western Powers made it clear that they will not abandon the concept of international staffing, a Western source said.