Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-05-18

What ranked French and West |
German leaders over the week |
end was that such talk reached
the point where they thought |
1t was weakening the Western
position on the package plan |
and going beyond agreed West
ern positions.
Mr.. Won Brentano said on
going into the session at Mr..
Herter's Office '.the whole af-
fair is nothing serious"
The Joint statement issued
afterward was worked out by
deputies in advance Of the min
listers meeting.
Lloyd Sees Gromyko
Mr.. Lloyd held an hour-long
talk with Mr.. Gromyko on the
work Of the conference this
week. Mr.. Gromyko sought the
discussion with Mr.. Lloyd but
declined to disclose whether he
hal made some new proposal.
Other points Of difference
between Mr.. Couve de Muir
vile and the other Western
ministers also are becoming
apparent. French informants
say their government is de-
cidedly against holding q sum-
NIT meeting in San Francisco
because 1t should be In a neu-
tral place like Geneva.
Mr.. Lloyd has favored San
Francisco possibly because he
thinks this would appeal to So
Wet Premier Nikita Khru-
shchev and make a summit
conference more certain, The
United States is willing to-
agree on San Francisco If the
others insist.
Divided on Secrecy
The Western camp also is
divided on secret diplomacy.
Mr.. Herter and Mr.. Lloyd
want to go into small private
meetings soon.
Mr.. Couve de Mwville thinks
the West should wait for the
Russians to take the initiative
for secret talks. The West
could then demand German
exclusion as a condition. He
feels If the West takes the in
itiative Mr.. Gromyko win in
sist on bringing in the East
German Communists.
The split on Berlin occurred
as the conference began q week
expected to bring first a debate
, on the rival Western and Soviet
proposals for q German peace
settlement and then a start on
secret diplomacy to see whether
/ there are any points in eithei
plan - but particularly thu
} Western package plan or
; which serious negotiations coulC
. be opened up here.
United States delegation
I sources told reporters that j
: might be necessary, In view D.
q Soviet denunciation of th,
e package approach. to try to ge
an interim Berlin arrangement
5 something that would proven
Z q showdown over the Russian
q demand that the Western pow
q ers abandon West Berlin.
4 Reaction Is Angry
Angry reactions came from
French delegation sources. Yves
: German ofiicials also let 1t b
: known that they we're unhapp!
S with talk of weakening Western
+ insistence on the package prop
!. oSition.
: French informants com,
planned that breaking up tn,
t package now Is premature
y They said the Western power
d at this stage Of the conferenc,
9 should throw all their weigh
i and prestige behind persisten
: lpreSsure to put over the Who'll,
Western program.
United States officials esti
mated there would be no diff
d Guilty In the Western allie
+ agreeing on tactics for the mex
It two or three days. But the,
IS we're not sure in the light o
the French criticism what tn
: situation would be In the West
: ern camp when it came to max
: ing final decisions on whel
e and how to negotiate with tn
Ie Russians over the Berlin prob
Ie lem.
GrOmyko's Views Awarded
1t Beginning the second wee
> of negotiations after a week
& end recess. Mr.. Gromyko wa
N reported poised for a detaile
" discussion of the Vests pack
age plan for German reunif
of cation and European security
TO Mr.. Khrushchev in a weeh
v end speech appeared to ope
D. the prospect of agreement Q
De individual points If not for
general settlement. While d.
I'd nouncing the Western packal
m plan as a whole, he said it cor
"a