§ Q5. Mr. Roseasked the Prime Minister what further action he proposes to take with the co-Chairman of the Geneva Conference to bring an end to the war in Vietnam.
§ The Prime MinisterI would refer my hon. Friend to the Answers I gave to Questions on 7th and 28th May, Sir.— [Vol. 764, c. 206–8; Vol. 765, c. 1530–1.]
§ Mr. RoseWill my right hon. Friend keep in the closest possible contact with the negotiating parties in Paris and stand ready to respond to any initiative that may present itself with regard to reconvening the Geneva Conference? Is he aware that while peace negotiations are going on there are more casualties than ever in Vietnam and that the bombing has continued unabated in volume if not in scope and extent?
§ The Prime MinisterThe bombing has been conducted within the new policy 434 announced by President Johnson in March, but it is certainly true that the casualties have continued and there have been some horrible civilian casualties in South Vietnam as a result of the intensification of the fighting.
With regard to the position of the co-Chairman, we have always agreed that we stand ready, if the parties request us to do so, either to reconstitute the Geneva Conference or in any other way to take an initiative which would enable substantive discussions to take place. It might not necessarily be the old Geneva Conference. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs discussed these matters with Mr. Gromyko on his recent visit to the Soviet Union.