Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-07-30
GENEVA
Berlin Threat Held
To Rule Out Summit


Washington to prepare for that
conference. Mr., Lloyd and
French Foreign Minister Maui
rice Couve de Murville agreed
to his proposing that the con-
Ference end Wednesday.
Following a long luncheon
meeting between Mr.. Herter
and Mr.. Gromyko, Assistant
Secretary of State Andrew H.
Berding announced that Mr..
Gromyko and Mr.. Herter
agreed that we would wind up
by Wednesday of next week"
However, a Soviet spokesman
said that Mr.. Herter's depar-
ture left Mr.. Gromyko no
choice but to go home himself.
1t appeared the Russians were
putting themselves in position
to put full blame for a break
off on the United States Sec
rotary if that suited their
propaganda purposes.
Western officials talked of
anot her foreign ministers
meeting in perhaps three
months if the Russians agreed
to a recess.
Western quarters believed
that during this period the
Russians would probably re-
frain from unilateral action to
try to force the Allies out of
West Berlin.
Western officials said, how
ever, that the possibility that
Russia might make a separate
peace treaty with East Ger
many could not be discounted.
The Russians have already
claimed that such a treaty
would give Communist East
Germany full control over the
Berlin supply lines from West
Germany. The West fears the
East Germans then might try
to blockade West Berlin, and
the Allied garrisons there. in
an effort to force direct Allied
negotiations with the Commu-
mist German regime which the
West refuses to recognize.
Khrushchev May Hold Of
Offsetting this possibility is
Mr.. Gromyko'S statement sew
eral times here that his gov
eminent prefers to resolve the
Berlin dispute by agreement
with the Western powers and
thus avoid unilateral action.
Some Western leaders also say
privately that Mr.. KhruShchev
may prefer to refrain from ac-
ton in order to keep the threat
of it as a weapon to use in fur
Their bargaining with the West.
With the conference due to
ruin for another week. two lines
of development were in pros
pect. Mr.. Lloyd, Mr.. Herter
and Mr.. Couve de Murville are
expected to make further eff
forts to get Mr.. Gromyko to
modify his terms for a Berlin
truce agreement.
Mr.. Lloyd is expected to try
to get the other Western min
listers to agree that differences
with Russia have been mar
rowed sufficiently to justify a
summit conference. But both
President Eisenhower and
French President Charles de
Gaulle take the position that
the basis for a summit con-
ference must be an accord with
Russia lifting the Soviet threat
to Berlin.
Two Major Blocks
Disagreement on two major
issues has blocked such an &C
cord for weeks.
The Western powers want
Russia to agree to respect allied
rights in West Berlin until
Germany is unified. They also
insist the Big Powers must re-
tain full control over negotia-
tionS on unif1cation and a
peace settlement.
Russia has offered to guar
antee the present Western po-
sition in Berlin only for Is
months, plus a further negotia-
ton of unspecif1ed length. And
Mr.. Gromyko has demanded as
his price for even a limited
truce that the Big Four turn
over negotiations on German
unification to a committee of
East and West Germans, a
form of recognition of East
Germany which the West
rejects.