“West Would Fight Over Berlin”

Press, Volume C, Issue 29643, 13 October 1961, Page 21

“West Would Fight Over Berlin”

(N.Z.P.A -Reuter— Copyngtiti

LONDON, October 11. The West would go to war over West Berlin if it was denied right of access, the Foreign Secretary (Lord Home) said today.

In a dramatic moment at the Conservative Party's annual conference he revealed that that was the warning he had sent to Mr Khrushchev through his Foreign Minister (Mr Gromyko). Mr Gromyko flew to Moscow today after talks in London and Wasington with Western leaders. The 4000 delegates meeting at Brighton sat in absolute silence as Lord Home told them he had told Mr Gromyko: “If the Russian Government persisted in handing over the questions of access to the city of West Berlin, and the status of the city, to the East German Government they would be courting a head-on collision. “Mr Ulbrecht and the East German Government had a vested interest in squeezing the life out of West Berlin. “If there is interference with access to West Berlin a fight would start. No-one could say that it would not end in the ultimate disaster Of * nuclear etdShange.” ' When he finished, Lord Home paused for a few Second*- Then, very deliberately. he said: “J think we succeeded in convincing Mr Gromyko that the situation must not be allowed to arise.” The German people were entitled to self-determina-tion a* much as any other nation. There were three immediate problems: The freedom ot the people of West Berlin to live the life of their own choosing. The, right of the Allie* to be in Berlin ha defence of that freedom. The right of unhindered access. "Those are the three requirement* which must be guaranteed,” he said. Lord Home made these other points on the international situation: The safety of Britain lay in effective collective security. The answer to the Congolese problem was for the Prime Minister <Mr A doula) and Mr Moise Tshombe to get together and settle the constitutional pattern. Britain was ready to sign a nuclear test ban treaty now. She was ready to start negotiations tomorrow on complete and general disarmament by stages with effective con-

trols in any generally acceptable form. The dilemma over disarmament was that the Soviet Union had an immense military advantage in the, secret nature of its society. It insisted that inspection must be confined to those weapons which were publicly destroyed. President Kennedy's plan, which Britain fully suppor-1 ted, was for destroying all weapons of war except those needed for interne! security or an international police' force, said Lord Home.