RELEASE OF POWERS Limited Effect On Tensions: Rusk

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29747, 14 February 1962, Page 13

RELEASE OF POWERS Limited Effect On Tensions: Rusk

(N Z. Press Assn —Copyright)

WASHINGTON, February 12.

The release of the' American U-2 pilot, Francis Gary Powers, by the Soviet Union did not have much effect on the issues that divide the Communist and the free worlds, the United States Secretary of State (Mr Dean Rusk) said last night. But it was of some advantage to get “unnecessary irritations” out of the wav.

“I would not draw any conclusions from this return of Mr Powers with respect to questions like Berlin or South-east Asia, Mr Rusk said on a radio interview.

The 32-yeer-old U-2 pilot has been held incommunicado by American authorities since his release from a Soviet prison in exchange for the Soviet master spy, Colonel Rudolf Abel, on Saturday. Motives Questioned

Last night Mr Rusk was asked whether the release of Powers was a Soviet propaganda move or an indication of a real desire to reach solid agreement on outstanding East-West differences. Mr Rusk said he was glad about the release of Powers and an American student. Frederic Pryor, but he added: “I would not, myself, think that an incident of this kind moves us very far in the great issues that divide the Communist and the free worlds. It is of some advantage to get unnecessary irritations out of the way. and when people are being held in each other's country, this is an irritation that we could do without.”

Asked what significance he attached to the time of the release of Powers, he said: “Quite frankly, I don't attach any particular importance to that. These informal discussions had been going on for quite a long time. This could have happened much earlier it could have been delayed further. “I don’t try to draw too many conclusions about the success of these discussions at this particular moment.” Secret Location

Powers is believed to be undergoing Government questioning at a secret location somewhere along the coast of Delaware, Maryland or Virginia. A White House announcement reported that he was allowed to have a reunion

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OTTAWA, February 13

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with his wife and parents at the secret rendezvous. Government sources have said it would be 10 days to two weeks before Powers might be made available for public questioning. United Press International said that some of the questions unanswered in the case were:

Senator John Sparkman iDemocrat, Alabama*, actingchairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has asked Mr Rusk to give that group a full report on the interrogation of Powers.

He aaid in a letter to Mr Rusk that such a report would be needed to complete a 1960 inquiry by the committee into the U-2 incident. The letter said other committee members had suggested reopening the inquiry to hear Government officials after they had completed their interrogation of the pilot.

How was Powers’s high-alti-tude reconnaissance plane brought down? Did he help the Kremlin embarrass the United States through information he provided? What indoctrination was the pilot given before being assigned to the delicate reconnaissance mission?

The spokesman declined to comment on Powers’s present status whether or not he is regarded as a Government employee and also said he had no information about a “New York Times” report that the Central Intel, ligence Agency had formed a board of inquiry to investigate the case.

The State Department spokesman (Mr Lincoln White) told questioners at his daily news conference today that Powers was not under detention and that no charges had been made against him.