Evening star., 1953-09-30
'EVasiVe' Soviet Note
Leaves Little Hope
For German Pact
By Gornett D. Horner

American officials today saw
little hope of making any head
way with Russia toward solving
German and Austrian problems
in the near future.
They regarded the latest note
from Moscow as aimed mainly
at delaying coming to grips with
such specific issues while holding
out a vague hope of dealing with
world tensions" generally.
The State Department. still
studying the Soviet note of the
daS before yesterday in an effort
to ascertain its true meaning.
officially branded it as "evasive"
and an example of Russian "dila-
tory tactics"
Further official reaction 20
confusing Soviet proposals" for
conferences of foreign ministers
to include Red China awaited
consultations with the British
and French governments and a
report by Secretary of State
Dulles to President Eisenhower.
Translation Made Public.
An unofficial English transla-
ton of the Russian note was
made public by the State Depart
ment last night.
After some 5000 words of O.,
rambling rehaSh of Soviet griev-
anceS against the West. the prin-
Cipally confusing portion of the
note read this way:
The Soviet government pro-
poses that a conference of the
foreign ministers be called pro-
Ceeding from the following:
i. To consider at a confer
ence composed of ministers of
foreign affairs of the United
States, United Kingdom. France,
Chinese Peoples Republic and
the Soviet Union measures to
lessen tension in international
relations.
- To discuss at a conference
composed Of the foreign minis
terS of the United States. France,
the United Kingdom and the
Soviet Union the German prob
lem. including all proposals in
troduced in the course of pre-
pairing the conference"
Meaning Held UncIear.
1t was anybody'S guess whether
the Russians were proposing
two entirely separate confer
ences. or were making a con-
ference on Germany contingent
on the Western powers agreeing
to hold first a meeting with Red
China.
One thing was clear here. how
eVer-the United States is not
interested in the Soviet proposal
for bringing the Chinese Com
munists into a foreign ministers
conference at this. time.
And, with all it's confusing
language, the Soviet note ap-
peared to say that the Russians
will agree to unifying Germany
only on Communist terms.
Furthermore it made clear
that the measures by which
Moscow wants Ito lessen tension
in international relations" are
mainly things the United States
can not agree to.
Wants NATO Scrapped.
The Soviet note called for
such things as admitting Com
munist> China into the United
Nations and scraping North At
lantic Treaty Organization de-
fenSe policies for Western Eu-
rope and the projected European
Defense Community.
1t was in reply to an Ameri-
can-BritiSh-French proposal of
September 2 for a Big Four for
eign ministers conference Octo-
Der Is at Lugano, Switzerland,
to consider the problem of uni
flying Germany and an Austrian
independence treaty.
The Western, proposal speci-
fled that the projected confer
ence should concentrate first on
irving to agree on a formula for
free elections throughout the
Soviet as well as the Western
zones of Germany as the key to
any German settlement.
Intentions Obscure.
The Soviet reply left Russian
intentions obscure. At one point
1t said the Western position was
untenable since "dll-German
elections are exclusively the in
ternal affair of the Germans,
and asserted the Western rejec-
tiOt0 Of an na1IiaY. PncCioro rorO