MR NASH SEES MAJOR STEP TOWARDS DISARMAMENT

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29165, 28 March 1960, Page 7

MR NASH SEES MAJOR STEP TOWARDS DISARMAMENT

Of all the problems that faced the world today, disarmament was one of the gravest and most intractable, said the Prime Minister (Mr Nash) addressing the annual conference of the New Zealand United Nations Association on Saturday. “All our efforts will be needed to overcome the elements of inertia, mistrust, and suspicion which have hampered negotiations in the past,” said Mr Nash. The matter was now receiving concentrated attention, and it was not too much to say that the eyes of the people of the world now turned on Geneva with hope and fear. Last year, said Mr Nash, the Western countries and the Soviet Union both put forward proposals for disarmament.. There were differences in the proposals, but he did not believe that they were irreconcilable. “What was needed was a will to bridge the gap.” Already there were hopeful developments. On March 19 the Soviet delegate to the United Nations made a significant concession to the Western views by agreeing to join Britain and the United States in banning tests that could be detected, on condition that the three countries joined in experiments to detect small underground tests. New Factor One new factor that had arisen in the international situation last week was the decision of the British Prime Minister to visit the United States for personal discussions with President Eisenhower with the aim of reaching agreement on an offer from the Soviet Union on nuclear disarmament, said Mr Nash. The Soviet offer was a proposal setting out the conditions re-

quired to reach agreement on a total ban of all nuclear tests for four years. “This was the first, major step towards disarmament, and Mr Macmillan is to be congratulated on his courageous initiative. .We wish him every success in his endeavour to reach agreement with the Government of the United States on this matter,” said Mr Nash. If Mr Macmillan’s visit met with some success, the first bridging of the gap might have occurred, said Mr Nash. Spectacular results should not be expected, though, for the problem had defied settlement for very many years. “But the job has started—itself no mean achievement when it is considered the number of plans put forward and rejected almost without discussion in the years since the Second World War,” said the Prime Minister. “Point of No Return” “We are approaching the point of no return with the growth of nuclear armaments. There is today an urgency in the need for a successful agreement. Each succeeding year brings greater danger from radioactive fallout.” said Mr Nash. “I still have the same faith in the United Nations as when the Charter was signed in 1945.” said Mr Nash. “The United Nations in agreement is the only hope for the world at present. If it can banish the fear and suspicions that nations now have on the question of nuclear armament then possibly the greatest problem facing humanity can be solved.”