§ Q5. Sir C. Osborneasked the Prime Minister in view of the fact that the visit to London of Mr. Kosygin and Mr. Brezhnev was postponed for Soviet Government reasons, if he will now renew his official invitation to the Soviet leaders; and if he will make a statement.
§ The Prime MinisterI renewed the invitation to Mr. Kosygin when I visited Moscow in February and, as was announced in the joint communique, Mr. Kosygin accepted. I expect the visit to take place later this year.
Sir C. OsbornrI welcome the last part of the right hon. Gentleman's reply. Will he remember his own claim that only the Left can deal with the Left and will he please get on with it?
§ The Prime MinisterI missed the last few words of the hon. Gentleman's Question, but I am always flattered to have attributed to me any phrase used by Mr. Ernest Bevin in 1945.
§ Mr. MendelsonIs my right hon. Friend aware that we are all hoping that his invitation will now be accepted and that Mr. Kosygin will be able to come to this country later this year, and that the many difficult problems which are to be discussed are an additional reason for his coming as soon as possible?
§ The Prime MinisterYes, Sir. I am grateful to my hon. Friend. In fact, the invitation has been accepted by Mr. Kosygin. We have been in touch about dates. We are looking forward to his visit and both he and I are anxious that these talks should be fruitful and that we should carry on with the work which we began in February when I was in Moscow discussing these questions with him and with Mr. Brezhnev.