Washington And Hanoi Dispute Talks Venue

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31653, 13 April 1968, Page 13

Washington And Hanoi Dispute Talks Venue

(N.Z.P .4 -Reuter—Copyright)

WASHINGTON, April 12.

Hopes for a quick beginning to preliminary Vietnam peace talks were dimmed today by a dispute between Washington and Hanoi over where such discussions should take place.

The United States is now holding out for “a neutral site fair to both sides where the atmosphere would be free from political and psychological pressures.” The White House showed great reluctance to accept the latest North Vietnamese proposal, for contacts in Warsaw’, although it did not definitely reject it.

The President had previously told Hanoi that its initial choice, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, was unacceptable because the United States lacked diplomatic relations with that country and could not be assured of secure communications. The United States does not have an embassy in Warsaw, but has had contacts there with Hanoi representatives before, and carries on its only formal contact with Communist China in the Polish capital. The Presidential spokesman (Mr George Christian) told a press conference that North Vietnam had not yet responded to a proposal by President Johnson suggesting a number of neutral countries as possible venues. Mr Christian refused to list those proposed by the United States Government, but it is widely reported that they include New Delhi (India), and Rangoon (Burma), as the most favoured, with Djkarta

(Indonesia) and Vientiane (Laos), as other possibilities. The President’s top aides seek to justify his apparent change in his ground rules for opening talks by asserting that the Communists are trying to make propaganda out of the exchanges over the selection of a place to hold the preliminary talks. What effect all this will 'have on the ultimate outcome lof negotiations, if and when ■they take place, is not prei dictable, but Administration officials recognise that the qualifications tacked on to ; President Johnson’s original offer will certainly be seized upon by critics at home and abroad who cast doubt on the sincerity of his peace efforts. This is the first time that the United States Government has mentioned the necessity of finding a place for secret talks where “the public atmosphere” would be an important consideration. “Irritated”

Although it certainly was not the decisive factor in causing the United States to look with disfavour on Warsaw, Administration officials were noticeably irritated because Hanoi’s latest proposal

was disclosed to the world by the official Soviet news agency, Tass, before it came through diplomatic channels. The Acting Secretary of State (Mr Nicholas Katzenback) called the Soviet Ambassador (Mr Anotoli Dobrynin) to the State Department at noon yesterday to complain about this alleged breach of diplomatic protocol. Talking to reporters later, Mr Dobrynin said the Tass report of the Warsaw proposal had been filed by the agency’s Hanoi representative. He added that Tass had a number of energetic reporters round the world and implied that they enjoyed greater freedom from Government direction than American officials believe to be the case. But in spite of th! difficulties in arranging the site for the initial contact between the American Ambassador-at large (Mr W. Averell Harriand a Hanoi representative, there is still expectation in Washington that some mutu-ally-agreeable spot will be found. Some Communist sources have mentioned Paris as Hanoi's third choice, and that

mav turn out to be the location. Administration officials point out that Hanoi, when rejecting President Johnson’s suggestion for contacts in Geneva, said it wanted a location closer to home. For that reason, the United States went back with proposals on locations in Asian countries. Thus, the Warsaw suggestion probably caught Washington by surprise. Officials point out that the sincerity of the two sides in searching for a formula to end the conflict is the key element and preliminary squabbles over where to hold initial contacts are secondary, although they must be resolved before the principle business can begin. Paris Talks In Paris, the United Nations Secretary-General (U Thant) today met Mr Mai Van 80, North Vietnam’s highestranking envoy in Europe, after flying to the French capital for talks on Vietnam. The Secretary • General drove to the North Vietnamese delegation’s headquarters after a meeting with Mr Guy de Lacharriere, head of the French Foreign Ministry’s United Nations department, and other senior officials. U Thant made no statement as he entered the building, and a strong police guard kept reporters away.