Kennedy Prefers Treaty To Tests

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29767, 9 March 1962, Page 13

Kennedy Prefers Treaty To Tests

(N.Z. Press Assn,—Copyright) WASHINGTON, March 8. President Kennedy made it clear yesterddy that the United States would proceed with planed nuclear tests in the atmosphere if the forthcoming disarmament talks in Geneva failed.

He said he would “much prefer” an agreement with the Soviet Union on a nuclear test ban than continued nuclear competition.

The United States, he said, would make a genuine effort to reach an accord, but he declined to go beyond a cautious expression of hope about the possibility of reaching agreement at Geneva.

Obviously taking note of Mr Khrushchev's recent warning that if the United States held atmospheric nuclear tests, the Soviet Union would “undoubtedly” have to reply by holding a series of new tests, the President said he presumed that if the United States tested, the Soviet Union would follow suit “I regard that as a very risky—in the long run—procedure fbr the future of the human face,” he commented.

"On the other hand, if we do not test and others test that has a risk. I made the determination that that would be the greater risk." The President reiterated his desire for negotiated agreements before going to the summit At the same time he dropped a hint that he was expecting some developments from the Foreign Ministers’ disarmament conference, due to open on March 14.

He said that while holding to the view that a summit meeting should be preceded by negotiated agreements, he was “looking forward to this spring.” The President said he would go to the summit if some agreements had been made which could be completed most effectively by a summit meeting. He also recalled that he had previously expressed the view that it would be appro-

priate to go to the summit without prior agreements if such a step might avert a war or if the world was faced with an extremely dangerous situation. “But I think that to go to the summit without having an understanding of what is going to be accomplished there with some meeting of the minds disappoints rather than helps the cause, and that is why I have held the views that I do. Space Co-operation The President disclosed that he wrote to Mr Khrushchev today setting forth proposals for United States-Soviet cooperation in outer space projects. The proposals are a result of Mr Khrushchev's recent suggestion, in congratulating the President on Colonel Glenn's orbital flight, that the two countries should get together on space exploration.