§ 81. Mr. Beswickasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what proposals were made by the Union of Soviet 38W Socialist Republics at the Berlin Conference for a joint committee to establish the facts about police forces and armed forces held in East and West Germany; and why he supported the rejection of these proposals.
Mr. EdenA translation of the Soviet proposal will be found on page 130 of the White Paper (Command 9080). Mr. Molotov did not propose an inquiry such as the hon. Gentleman suggests, but referred to the desirability of an agreement concerning police forces in East and West Germany. I and my two Western colleagues informed the Soviet Delegation that we felt that this proposal, put forward at the last moment, required more careful study.
The Federal Government are directly responsible for police matters in the Federal Republic. For the reasons which I gave on more than one occasion during our Berlin meeting, it would be unrealistic to suppose that the Federal Government and the authorities in the East Zone could reach agreement on these matters.