§ 47. Mr. Swinglerasked the Prime Minister if, in his discussions in Paris, Bonn, and Washington, he will make a proposal for a date and place for a summit meeting, to be put forward to the Soviet leaders.
§ The Prime MinisterI do not propose to anticipate or reveal the course of these private discussions.
§ Mr. SwinglerIs it a fact that the majority of the Western Powers and the Soviet Union have now declared in principle in favour of a summit meeting? Therefore, whether there is a meeting of the Foreign Ministers or not, what stands in the way of proposing the date and place for a summit meeting?
§ The Prime MinisterI have heard some talk of a summit meeting, and I am glad to have the support of the hon. Gentleman.
§ Mr. GaitskellWhile appreciating that the Prime Minister is not in a position, in the middle of these discussions, to tell us much about them, may I ask whether he can give us any idea of what procedure he envisages when he has finished 1257 his consultations in Bonn and Washington? Are there then to be diplomatic exchanges between the Western Powers and the Soviet Union regarding the date of the Foreign Ministers' conference, or what exactly may we expect after that?
§ The Prime MinisterI would hope that we might make an agreed reply to the last Soviet Note, either before then or at the end of my visits.