Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-07-31
West Germans Fear Diplomatic Trap
AT Geneva, Ask U. S. to Stand Firm
BY JOHN NJ. HIGHTOWER
W Associated Press stan Writer

BY JOHN NJ. HIGHTOWER O
a Associated Press stan writer
GENEVA, July 81 (AP).-
West Germany today urged the
United States to stand firm
against any pressure to make
concessions to the Russians in
the final days Of the Big Four
foreign ministers conference,
reliable informants said.
The plea was made directly
TO Secretary of State Christian
A. Herter by Heinrich Won
BFentano, West German for
eign minister, at an hours
conference, these sources
added.
West Germany fears a dip
lomatic trap may be sprung
by Soviet Foreign Minister
Andrea A. Gromyko before the
conference ends or recesSes
Wednesday. The Germans be-
lieve Mr.. Gromyko may offer a
concession in Soviet demands
that the Western garrisons get
out of Berlin, then use this to
pry concessions from the West.
Associates said Mr.. Won
Brentano told Mr.. Herter his
government believes any Ber-
lin solution based on the latest
Soviet proposals would weaken
the Western position in Berlin.
One aspect of the Soviet plan
that alarmed the Germans was
the proposal for curtailing
propaganda and ubver sive +,
activities in Berlin.
Fear Suppression
The West Germans said that
under the laws of Communist
East Germany, almost any
thing published or spoken in
West Berlin could be construed
as hostile propaganda. Through
an East-West agreement. Mr..
Won Brentiano feared, the Reds
would try to force suppression
of Western newspapers, radio
broadcasts, sermons and pub
liShed reports of the flight of
refugees from East to West
Berlin.
Willy Brandt, Mayor of West
Berlin, sat in on the talks be-
tween Mr.. Won Brentano and
Mr.. Herter. Mr.. Brandt was
rushed here yesterday to use
his influence with Mr.. Herter
to reinforce Western resistance
to Soviet demands.
The West Germans met with
Mr.. Herter shortly before the
Secretary of State went into
another secret session with Mr..
Gromyko. British Foreign Sec
rotary Selwyn Lloyd and French
Foreign Minister Maurice Couve
de Murville at Mr.. Gromyko's
villa.
Meanwhile. high-level ex-
perts from East and West failed
to reach agreement in a session
devoted to an effort to find
common language in the rival
Soviet and Western proposals
for a Berlin settlement.
Qualified informantS said
experts from the United States,
Britain, France and the Soviet
Union met all morning to dis
cuss various specific items in
the two proposals and failed
to agree on any item"
The experts then decided to
inform the Big -Four ministers
of their failure and leave to the
ministers a decision on whether
they would meet again.
Concessions Expected
With the conference sched-
uled to end next Wednesday,
the West Germans and some
other Western diplomats fore
see this possibility:
Next Monday or Tuesday, |
perhaps even earlier, Soviet
Foreign Minister Andrea A.
Grotnyko may offer a major
concession to the West by sud-
denly cutting the price for an
agreement to lift the Soviet
threat to West Berlin. The West
Germans speculate he might
declare a willingness to drop
for the present his demand for
direct negotiations between the
West and East Germans.
Such Soviet action would put
heavy pressure on the West to
make a corresponding conceS-
sion. Mr.. Gromyko might in
sistton acceptance of his pro-
posal for a relatively short
term agreement on Berlin,
guaranteeing the Western oc-
cupation for 18 months plus
period of negotiation to follow
butIleaving the city exposed to
possible Soviet action after that.
There has been no indication
from the Soviet Foreign Min
lister that he intends to make
last minute concessions, but the
tactic is one often used by the
SoNets in this kind of situa-
ton.