Kennedy Warns Adenauer On Axis

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30041, 28 January 1963, Page 9

Kennedy Warns Adenauer On Axis

(NZ Press Association—Copyright) WASHINGTON, January 26.

President Kennedy has warned the West German Chancellor (Dr. Adenauer) that creation of a special French-German axis would endanger European unity and strike at the vitals of the North Atlantic Treaty defence alliance.

This was dtecloeed today by Admintetoattoc officials who acknowledged that the 15nation alliance faced its gravest danger of breaking up since Mb creation in 1949. United Press International reported. The peril stems from President de Genite's adamant opposition to Britain’s entry into the six-nation European Common Market, his rejection of Mr Kennedy's multi-1-teral N.A.T.O. nuclear force proposal, and evidence that Dr. Adenauer is wavering between Washington and Paris, according to the news agency. Officials said the President’s warning was expressed through the West German Ambassador, Mr Heinrich Knappstein, Last Wednesday when he delivered a letter to Mr Kennedy from the Chancellor. The letter vas a report on Dr. Adenauer’s Paris talks earlier in the week with General de Gaulle. It contained a lengthy justification of the ChenceHor’s action on Tuesday in signing with General de Genite a formal treaty pledging ttose FrenchGerman co-operetion in foreign policy, defence and cultural development. The President was said to have tok’ Mr Knappetein the United States was counting on West Germany to avoid any special deals with France which would endanger European unity and the North Atlantic. His oral message was couched in diplomatic but firm and unnueiakable terms which gave t the character of a firm warning, officials said. The White House officially remained aloof from the growing storm over N.A_T.O.'» future. A spokesman would say only that there had been

“exchanges” between Mr Kennedy and Dr. Adenauer over the French-German talks. The President was said to have been disappointed by Dr. Adenauer's failure to make a more vigorous effort to change General de Gaulle’s attitude on Britain's Common Market membership. Officials sand he al so was concerned at the length to wCdch the Chancellor went to justify the signing of the special treaty with General de Gaulle.

Diplomats to Washington speculated that General de G’ulle had embarked on an inflexible ctkupaign to push the United States out of Europe and destroy NA.T.O. with the idea of creating a “third force” in Europe around a French-German axis.