America Denies Suggesting Formal Talks

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26771, 14 May 1948, Page 5

America Denies Suggesting Formal Talks

N.Z.P.A. —Copyright WASHINGTON, May 12. The Secretary of Sthte. Mr George Marshall, to-day rejected all Suggestions that the United States and the Soviet might enter into negotiations on major international problems affecting other countries. Mr Marshall, addressing a press conference, denied that the American Ambassador in Moscow, General Bedell Smith, asked for any general discussions with the Russians. “What we want is action in fields where action is possible and urgently necessary. General Bedell Smith did not ask for any general discussion or negotiation. We have had long, bitter experience with such efforts. The United States Government had no intention of entering into bilateral negofions with the Soviet on matters relating to the interests of other Governments.

“Discussion of any proposals in regard to outstanding issues which the Soviet may have in mind must, as a matter of course, be conducted in a body charged with responsibility for these questions ” Mr Marshall, who was making his first direct comment on the Soviet announcement that it was ready to enter into negotiations with the United States, continued: “Any call for action must -take place in existing international machinery where the utmost difficulties have arisen and stalemates resulted.”

x Need For Action He explained that the international machinery to which he was the Security Council, other United Nations bodies and the Allied Control Council in Berlin He said that it was in these fields, as well as m Korea and in the Austrian Peace Treaty negotiations. that action was urgently necessary. Marshall declared that, while he had not yet decided whether to send any further formal Note or statement to Mr Molotov, the United States was ready at any time to under-

take normal diplomatic interchanges when there was hope for beneficial results. , Mr Marshall submitted to half an hour of rapid-fire questioning by over 20 reporters, one or whom asked: If the Soviet gave tangible evidence of willingness to negotiate in a spirit of compromise would the United States be prepared to enter negotiations, provided other nations participated? ” v Mr Marshall replied: “Yes, but only if specific proposals were involved Comment in America A New York message says that the recent exchange of Notes between the United States Ambassador, General Bedell Smith, and Mr Molotov was prompted from the American side by the necessity of making the position of the United States perfectly clear, according to the New York Times Washington correspondent, Mr James Reston. “ Ever since the Communist coup in Czechoslovakia, American officials have been afraid the Communists might be operating under one of two misconceptions." says the correspondent. “The first was that in an election year or because of economic depression the United States might be impotent to deal effectively with a Soviet policy of expansion. The second thing that worried our officials was that Russian officials might reallv believe their own propaganda—they might believe our economic aid to Europe and our encouragement of Western European Union and our rearmament programme are reallv "ct.ions of a United States Government that was encircling the Soviet and preoarine to make war on her “It was thought that if the Soviet officials believed either or these two things might, acting on a misconception, decide to attack before they felt we were ready ”

It was to prevent this and emphasise that we were neither impotent noi belli gerent-not to start formal negotiations—that General Bedell Smith was instructed at the beginning of May to restate our policy of first remaining firm, but secondly, leaving, the door open to reorientation of Soviet policy