Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-03-11

negotiate With his own allies.
The Western powers are 8
have ever been on the eve Of
an important meeting with
their Soviet antagonists. Ex-
cept for the French, the splits
are not particularly dramatic
but they are persistent and
deep. They seem to represent a
kind of erosion of common pur-
pose.
Soviet Foreign Minister An
drei A. Gromyko must be ex-
pected to use every trick he can
muster in his efforts to widen
the riffs. But Soviet policy has
its own limitations, derived
from it's overriding hostility to
the West.
France has pulled so far from
the mainstream of Western
policy that President Charles
de Gaulle ruled out French
attendance at the disarmament
conference opening Wednes-
day. He refused even to send
an observer, which was the
least Mr.. Rusk and President
Kennedy had hoped for.
De GauIIe Disagrees
Thus the originally Sched~
uled 18-nation conference will
be a 17-nation conference be-
cause Gen. de Gaulle basically
diSagrees with the way Mr..
Kennedy and British Prime
Minister Harold Macmillan are
trying to handle Russian rela-
lions.
Gen. de Gaulle does not think
the disarmament negotiations
will make any progress what
ever, and he has always dis
approved U. S. probing of So
Wet intentions in the Berlin
crisis, which is one Of Mr..
RuSk's reasons for coming here.
Gen. de Gaulle has argued
for months that since Premier
Khrushchev started the Berlin
crisis, he should take the lead
in settling it. Mr.. Macmillan's
view stands at the opposite
extreme: He not only faVors
Western initiative in probing
but seeks whenever possible to
move negotiations along to-
ward a summit conference.
Mr.. Kennedy finds Mr.. Mac
milan closer to him on most
issues than other allies. Mr..
RuSk and British Foreign
Minister Lord Home are known
to get on we'll. But British
American relationship develops
frictionS when the going gets
tough.
Thus Mr.. Rusk and Lord
Home came up to the eve
of their meetings with Mr..
Gromyko without agreement on
the most vital single issue
involved in negotiations on a
nuclear weapons test ban
treaty. This is the inspection
issue. The British are reported
much more willing than the
Americans to modify their de-
mands for inspection operations
inside Russia.
Under PreSSureS
Diplomatic officials VIII o
know both men well say Mr..
Macmillan and Mr.. Kennedy
find it possible on most prob
lens to reach personal agree
ment without great difficulty.
But they are under different
political pressures and these
help shape their official atti-
tudeS.
Mr.. Kennedy generally is I'M
der pressure to be hard-handed
in his dealings with Mr.. Khru-
Shchev. Mr.. Macmillan gener-
ally is under pressure to talk
softly and offer maximum con-
Assions in the hope of agree
lNnt.
Western differences run in
other quarters also. West Ger
man Chancellor Konrad Ade-
nauer seems to have little con-
fidence in his American allies
when they start talking with
the Russians on any matter of
interest to Germany.
Germany is not a member of
the United Nations disarma-
nlent committee whose meeting
provides the occasion for the
current gathering of foreign
ministers. But Mr.. Adenauer
sent his foreign minister, Ger
hard Schroeder, to nearby Lau-
same to meet Mr.. Rusk to-
morrow and try to make sure
that German interests are fully
protected.
With such riffs in the front,
Mr.. Rusk, clearly has a very