February 6, 1960
NATO AND WARSAW PACT: Washington, 5 – The United States today rejected a proposal from the Warsaw Pact powers for a nonaggression pact with NATO. The US State Department announced that the USA had already committed itself to the non-use of force by signing the United Nations Charter, and said that the reiteration of Soviet threats regarding Germany in the Warsaw Pact statement was not in line with the Soviet Union’s declarations of peace. The State Department spokesman said that the Soviet Union would have the opportunity to show its sincerity in a more specific way, when the disarmament talks begin in Geneva on March 15. The spokesman refused to comment on press reports from Bonn that the Western powers would be willing to accept the idea of a separate peace treaty between the Soviet Union and East Germany and were preparing to agree to giving East German authorities certain rights to monitor the roads leading to West Berlin. According to reports from Moscow, Soviet Prime Minister Nikita Khrushchev held talks with East German leaders today on issues to be discussed at the next summit meeting as well as ways to end the «irregular situation in West Berlin.»
