§ Q4. Mr. Frank Allaunasked the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on his telephonic and other consultations with President Johnson about the war in Vietnam.
§ The Prime MinisterWe have been in very close contact with the United States Government over recent developments in Vietnam and in the Paris talks.
§ Mr. AllaunWhilst rejoicing that the bombing of North Vietnam has now ended, may I put two questions to the Prime Minister? First of all, would he request the Saigon Ambassador in London to request his Government to withdraw their refusal to attend the Paris peace talks so that they may continue without delay? Secondly, do the Government stand by their earlier declaration of support for the Geneva Agreement, which involves giving the people of South Vietnam the right to decide their own Government, and press Mr. Johnson accordingly?
§ The Prime MinisterI share my hon. Friend's rejoicing, and, indeed, this particular outcome, which is one more step on the road, is one for which we have been working consistently for a very long time. As I have told my hon. Friend before, that was one of the subjects I discussed at considerable length with President Johnson in February and Mr. Kosygin in January. Whatever our disagreements about methods I am glad we have reached this situation. As to the position about the Saigon Government, I agree that it is certainly highly desirable that they drop their objection to coming. With regard to the last part of the question, we stand entirely by what we said, about that particular aspect and all others, for a settlement of the problem.
§ Mr. MaudlingAs the next two months are likely to be of critical importance so far as Vietnam is concerned, is the right hon. Gentleman in a position to tell the House anything of his plans for maintaining communication with both President Johnson and the President-Elect in the light of our special responsibility as co-Chairman?
§ The Prime MinisterThere is a Question about the President-Elect which I shall be coming to in a moment. With regard to contact with President Johnson, this is very close and very frequent, both on a personal basis and, of course, through the more formal channels of the Ambassadors in the two countries and my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary's contacts with the Secretary of State. Certainly we shall keep in close touch during what the right hon. Gentleman rightly called the critical two months.
§ Mr. WinnickLooking at the war as a whole, is there any chance that the new American President will realise that supporting military dictatorships does not stop Communism but only strengthens it?
§ The Prime MinisterMy hon. Friend is entitled to his rather wider interpretation of these South-East Asian matters. I am not in a position to say anything about the views of the President-Elect on this or on other questions, but I do not think it would help with the difficult two months ahead for me to get involved in the kind of philosophy my hon. Friend has expressed.