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He thought the prospects for an agreement over Berlin
were now better. The Russians might realise that
if they wanted progress over important matters they
must deal with Berlin first.
The Russians had advanced in an important way
into the Mediterranean. They now had 40 naval vessel:
including 10 submarines and they had air bases
in Egypt.
They had in fact opened up another major
front. If the Canal were rapened there would be
They
a bigger Russian presence in the Indian Ocean.
were seeking to gain footholds wherever they could,
as seen by their approaches to Mauritius. The increase
Russian presence made the position of the American
6th Fleet difficult..
Mr Aichi enquired about the British views on
relations with East Germany. Sir AlecDouglas-Home
thought that no country was keen to recognise East
Germany very soon. It was however becoming more
The reason why the
difficult to prevent recognition. [The-
Allies were not keen to move ahead quickly with
mutual and balanced force reductions was the probabil
that the Russians might bring-East-Germany--into-this.)
which
The resulting-recognition of East-Germany might cause
Renziam
a nettlvarat
then to lose interest in Berlin. There might come
a day when there would be two Germanies in the United.
Nations, but this would not come about for some time.
Mr Aichi wondered whether Chancellor Brandt's
policies towards the Soviet Union were gaining suppor
in West Germany. SirAlec Douglas-Home thought that
on the whole Brandt's Ostøpolitik, as far as it had
so far gone, was accepted by the Parliamentary Opposition, but that opinion was hardening against
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