N.A.T.O. chiefs meet secretly

Press, 4 October 1982, Page 8

N.A.T.O. chiefs meet secretly

NZPA Vai David. Quebec N.A.T.O. Foreign Ministers discussed their differences in secret last- week-end in a mountain hideaway barred even to their own aides. “The idea of the meeting is to get away from the press, the public and their own bureaucrats,” a Canadian official told reporters as the 16 Ministers began eight hours of informal talks in the Quebec countryside. In contrast with their regular meetings, usually marked by set speeches and formal communiques, the Ministers opted for roundtable discussions and gourmet meals with only inter-

prefers for company. There was no agenda, but the issue of East-West relations was expected to figure prominently. Serious differences on how to handle relations with the Soviet Union are typified by a dispute between the United States and its key European allies over American sanctions against the Soviet natural gas pipeline project. The Reagan Administration and its allies in Western Europe are standing firm on their positions in the dispute, and American officials have said that the sanctions could be lifted only if stronger measures are imposed.