Home And Johnson Meet For Talks

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30365, 14 February 1964, Page 11

Home And Johnson Meet For Talks

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) WASHINGTON, February 12. President Johnson and Sir Alec Douglas-Home b chatted together like old friends today as they began /j two days of talks. Conceding policy differences but pledging to work together for the common good, they met twice today at the White House, as did the Secretary of ' State, Mr Dean Rusk, and the Foreign Secretary, Mr R. A. Butler.

While House ofti- * cials said later the talks were going “extremely well” and that the two men, who first met at President Kennedy’s funeral last November, have established “a very, very good rapport.” Disagreement over trade /with Communist nations clouded the talks. Official hints of a possible American consumer boycott isgainst British firms doing

business with Cuba have been made. However, speedy progress was seen in the fact that the two leaders completed their discussion of South-east Asia, including the Malaysian federation, and had gone into problem areas of Africa. British forces are stretched thin in both trouble spots. Their first meeting of a little more than an hour was a general policy review. At the afternoon session, the two leaders spent most of an initial, 15-minute, conversation alone discussing disarmament. Officials said they dealt specifically with plans for

trying to get the Soviet Union to scrap its Badger bombers in return for destruction of U.S. 8475. On Malaysia, Sir Alec Douglas-Home was understood to have expressed his thanks for the U.S. AttorneyGeneral’s role last month in arranging a cease-fire and a high-level conference among Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia. The two leaders were believed to have agreed to continue efforts to persuade Russia to accept tensioneasing agreements in Germany.

The touchy issue of Cuba, and private British trade with the Castro regime, came up several times, but officials gave the impression that the outlook for agreement was slight. Mr Rusk was said to have been informed of the British view that, although neutralisation of South-east Asia would be a happy solution if the countries of the region were left alone, President de Gaulle’s recent suggestions in this direction were “very unhelpful” for meeting the particular crisis being faced in Vietnam.

U.S. BASE IN CUBA Dependants To Leave (N.Z. Press Assn.—Copyright) WASHINGTON, February 13. Women and children will be removed gradually from the American Guantanamo Naval base in Cuba, the Defence Department announced yesterday. The purpose is to improve the “garrison posture.” No more dependants of either servicemen or civilians will .be sent to the base. The 3000 already there will be brought home by early 1966. Several hundred of 3300 Cuban workers at the base have been dismissed. Others are to oe released later in line with a Presidential directive.Last week Cuba shut off the Cuban source of water to the base. President Johnson ordered the development of new water sources and said water would not be bought, from Cuba in the future.