Prime Minister Would Attend Summit Talks

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31657, 18 April 1968, Page 30

Prime Minister Would Attend Summit Talks

(N.Z. Press Association) WELLINGTON, April 17. The Prime Minister (Mr Holyoake) said today he was prepared to attend a summit meeting of the Vietnam allies at any time if this would help the cause of peace.

Mr Holyoake was commenting on a proposal by the South Vietnamese Government for a conference of leaders of the Vietnam allies to formulate common policy on peace negotiations with the Communists He had received from the South Vietnamese Government a suggestion that it might be timely for a summit meeting of its allies, said Mr Holyoake. “I am in touch with other allied Governments. There will, necessarily, have to be some preliminary discussion among us to establish that there is a general feeling that a summit meeting at this stage could serve a useful purpose." His personal feeling was that the immediate task was to get the proposed talks between representatives of the

United States and North Vietnam under way. “I hope that the problem of sorting out a suitable site for these talks can be cleared up quickly,” he said. “Once these talks begin we shall have a clearer idea whether it would be helpful to hold another allied meeting to carry forward the discussions which took place at the recent meeting in Wellington of the Foreign Ministers of the seven allied nations."