§ 95 and 96. Mr. Zilliacusasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (1) whether, in view of the urgency and importance attached in the Prime Minister's letter to Prime Minister Bulganin to the unification of Germany, he is now ready to agree to Germany being united within the United Nations and an all-European treaty based on the Charter, but outside the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and the Warsaw alliance, in exchange for the Soviet Government accepting free elections as the means of unification;
(2) whether, in view of the insistence in the Prime Minister's reply to Prime Minister Bulganin that there can be no comprehensive disarmament agreement without the unification of Germany, he will agree, as part of an agreement on German unification, to negotiate a European convention for the reduction, limitation and control of armaments and withdrawal of foreign forces from the territories of Germany and her neighbours on the lines proposed by the Soviet Government on 17th November and subsequent occasions.
§ Mr. Ian HarveyThe Answer to both Questions is "No." The hon. Member is well aware of Her Majesty's Government's attitude on this subject. It is that Germany should be reunified by free all-German elections and that an all-German Government should be free to choose its own policies. The Soviet Government has consistently refused to accept this or to negotiate on the basis of the proposals put forward by the Western Powers at Geneva for a Treaty of Assurance in connection with the reunification of Germany in freedom. The Soviet Government statement of 17th November, 1956, contained no proposal for German reunification and there has been no subsequent indication that the Russians are prepared to modify the line which they took on this subject at Geneva.