HC Deb 16 July 1953 vol 517 cc2244-6
45. Mr. Beswick

asked the Prime Minister what decision was reached at the Washington meeting on the proposal to hold a meeting of the four Powers.

46. Mr. Benn

asked the Prime Minister what proposals the acting Foreign Secretary made with regard to the date of the Big-Four Conference; and what decision was reached.

48. Mr. Lewis

asked the Prime Minister what effect the recent news of unrest in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics has had on his declared policy of attempting to arrange four-Power talks; and whether he will make a statement.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr. R. A. Butler)

As the hon. Members will observe from the communiqué issued at the end of the Foreign Ministers' Conference in Washington, Her Majesty's Government, together with the Governments of the United States and France, have issued an invitation to the Soviet Government to attend a four-power meeting in September.

Mr. Beswick

Would not the acting Prime Minister agree that the proposal to hold a meeting of Foreign Ministers is contrary to the suggestion originally put forward by the Prime Minister, which was for an exploratory and informal discussion which might well have led the way to more formal discussions with the Foreign Ministers on particular points? Would he not agree that the suggestion originally put forward by the Prime Minister is a more valuable one?

Mr. Butler

That is a matter of opinion, but what has happened is that the Foreign Ministers concerned, in their conference in Washington, have come to the conclusion that this should be the first step. A further conference is by no means excluded.

Mr. Benn

Did the acting Foreign Secretary press, in Washington, the Prime Minister's proposal that a meeting should be held between Mr. Malenkov, President Eisenhower, himself and the French Prime Minister?

Mr. Butler

I think we had better go into all these matters when we have the debate on foreign affairs. Meanwhile, I think the hon. Member may be satisfied that every possible aspect of the situation was discussed in Washington.

Mr. Lewis

The Chancellor said that the Foreign Ministers' conference does not rule out the possibility of an eventual four-Power conference. Can we have it definitely from him that it is the policy of the Government to persist, as far as they are concerned, in trying to bring about this four-Power conference at the highest level as soon as possible?

Mr. Butler

I think we had better decide where and when the four-Power conference at the highest level is held when we see how this conference goes.

47. Mr. A. Henderson

asked the Prime Minister whether he will make a statement on the Foreign Ministers' Conference in Washington.

Mr. Butler

I would refer the right hon. and learned Gentleman to my reply yesterday to the hon. Member for Pembroke (Mr. Donnelly).

Mr. Henderson

In the meantime, can the House be assured that there is no suggestion to be taken from the communiqué that the United Nations Assembly would not be taken into account—indeed, its views received—before the three Powers were to carry on or renew operations in the event of a breach of the truce?

Mr. Butler

I think that the question that the right hon. and learned Gentleman has raised is very much in the minds of the Foreign Ministers concerned.