ABORTIVE SUMMIT

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29221, 3 June 1960, Page 11

ABORTIVE SUMMIT

■‘Eisenhower’s Fault”

(Rec. 10 p.m.) MOSCOW. June 1

Mr Khrushchev said today it was President Eisenhower’s fault that the two had no private meetings either before or after the abortive preliminary session of me Paris summit conference. Mr Khrushchev sought to drive home the point that it was Mr Eisenhower’s duty as the party responsible, in his view, for the worsening of Soviet-American relations to take the initiative for such a session, American Associated Press reported. Mr Khrushchev gave new publicity to this point of view in an unprecedented front-page interview with the Soviet Government newspaper "Izvestia." The interview appeared to be part of a series of acts intended to impress on the world the Soviet leader’s view that he should not be blamed for a breakdown in contacts among top figures and the failure of the summit conference

Mr Khrushchev told his interviewer: “Even before the preliminary meeting of the heads of Government I had a talk with Mr Macmillan. During this talk Mr Macmillan asked whether I intended to meet President Eisenhower to discuss this (U-2) matter

“It even seemed to me that it was not off his own bat only that the British Prime Minister asked this question "I replied that if President Eisenhower showed an interest in such a meeting 1 would be preoared to meet him However, I would not and could not take the initiative on this matter. This is but natural ”

This was the first disclosure that Mr Macmillan tried to smooth over the spy plane wrangle even before the summit talks were due to begin.