BRITISH-U.S. TALKS ON LAOS, CHINA

Press, Volume C, Issue 29479, 4 April 1961, Page 13

BRITISH-U.S. TALKS ON LAOS, CHINA

Appeal To Russia For Cease Fire Likely (N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) (Rec. 10 p.m.) WASHINGTON, April 3. Britain’s Foreign Secretary, the Earl of Home, will arrive in Washington today to set the stage for a week of British-American talks, highlighted by three White House conferences between President Kennedy and the British Prime Minister, Mr Macmillan. f Lord Home will attend the talks between the two leaders as well as conducting a different round of conferences with the Secretary of State, Mr Dean Rusk.

Mr Macmillan, who will fly to Washington from Jamaica tomorrow, will personally lead the British side of talks’ covering virtually every aspect of the foreign relations of the two Powers and current world crises. Diplomatic observers expect that the issues of Laos and Communist China will dominate much of the conversations at the State Department and the White House. Lord Home’s arrival comes after the Soviet Union’s week-end reply on Laos proposing an immediate 14nation peace conference to end the Laos civil war and agreeing to join Britain in calling for a cease fire. The British and American leaders are expected to press the Soviet Union specifically to agree with the Western viewpoint that a cease fire must precede the conference.

The timing of the truce was left indefinite in the Soviet reply to the British proposals for a peaceful settlement of the crisis. Diplomatic observers said Lord Home and Mr Macmillan were likely to join with the Kennedy Administration in a call to Mr Khrushchev to move a little closer towards the Western viewpoint, which was concerned that a delay in arranging a cease fire might bring a deterioration in the Laotian conflict between American - backed

troops of the pro-Western Laotian Government and the Communist-supplied Pathet Lao guerrillas. Lord Home will be meeting Mr Rusk only a few days after having discussed the Laotian crisis with Prince Souvana Phouma, the selfexiled neutralist leader, recognised by the Communist bloc as the Premier of Laos. United States officials indicated last night that the United States would insist on an effective Laotian cease fire before entering any international conference to settle the future of Laos. One source said: "We have always said we wanted a cease fire first. That is still our position. I don’t think we could back off that. We’d be asking for trouble.” Recognition of China The British and American leaders are also expected to have intensive talks on the issue of Communist China. Lord Home said in Britain recently that the realities of the international situation demanded that Communist China be seated in the United Nations. The United States holds that China has still to prove its qualifications for United Nations membership. Britain recognises Communist China, while the United States recognises only Nationalist China and has blocked efforts in the past to have the question of Communist China’s entry into the United Nations discussed.