COLLAPSE OF TALKS

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28921, 15 June 1959, Page 11

COLLAPSE OF TALKS

Bevan Sees No Justification (NZ Press Association—Copyright) (Rec. 10.15 p.m.) LONDON, June 13. The foreign affairs spokesman for the British Labour Party, Mr Aneurin Bevan, told miners in Cardiff today that if the Geneva Foreign Ministers talks broke down “it will be largely due to the fact that the Western Powers are anxious to avoid a summit conference.”Mr Bevan said there would be “no justification whatever’*’ for the talks collapsing without making provision for a summit conference.

“A little face-saving is not hard to do. There should be no reason at all when the summit conference is held that they should not have a joint federal commission between East and West Germany.” Mr Bevan said people had said the Soviet Foreign Minister (Mr Gromyko) had been difficult “Of course he had been difficult. He is a difficult chap,” he said. It was known before the Foreign Secretaries’ conference that the Russians were not going to make concessions. It was known that the Soviet Prime Minister (Mr Khrushchev) wanted to attend a summit conference himself because he was “the big boy.” If there was anything to be given away, Mr Khrushchev was the man to do it, he said.