Britain snubs treaty

Press, 24 February 1988, Page 6

Britain snubs treaty

By

PETER O’HARA

NZPA correspondent London Britain would not sign protocols to the South Pacific Nuclear-free Zone Treaty in the short term, said the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Marshall, yesterday. Mr Marshall, making his first trip to Britain as Foreign ■ Minister, called on the Thatcher Government to sign the treaty, drawn up by South Pacific Forum members. He told reporters he had put the request to the British Defence Secretary, George Younger.

The Foreign Minister said he had mentioned “one of the concerns we had was that the protocols of the treaty had not been signed by Britain and we hoped the time would come when they would be able to sign them.” Mr Marshall said that the Soviets had agreed to "abandon their misgivings, the Chinese are supporting them and the American Congress have told the Reagan Administration they did not see any reason why the Americans should not.” “I hope it will be possible for the British to

become signatories to the treaty as well,” he said. Asked what the response from Mr Younger had been, Mr Marshall said there were “no commitments about that... I do not think there is any chance of that happening in the short term.”

Mr Marshall also said British junior Foreign Minister, Lord Glenarthur, had mentioned his Government’s sadness that New Zealand’s antinuclear policy ruled out Royal Navy warship visits. “In every case Ministers are unhappy about

it,” Mr Marshall said. “But there was no unpleasantness about it. While in one or two instances people said they hoped the time would come when we would change our minds. “It did not in any way tarnish the conversations.” He said he did not detect any indications that British Ministers would change their stance against the New Zealand policy. Mr Marshall will meet the British Foreign Secretary, Sir Geoffrey Howe, today in the main appointment of the British leg of his European tour.