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5. Mr Lunkov said he would report to Moscow but clearly he could not discuss the internal affairs of Vietnam with the British Government. The Lord Privy Seal said that this was not just an internal affair. The external effects were all too apparent. We believed the Soviet Union should take action in Hanoi since it had the necessary influence there.
6. Mr Lunkov asked again what the Vietnamese Government could do. Those who were leaving Vietnam were adherents of the old regime. They wanted to go. The situation was similar to that in the Soviet Union after the October Revolution. The Lord Privy Seal said that these were not just people concerned about the change of regime. There was a deliberate policy of getting rid of ethnic Chinese. Mr Lunkov said he did not believe this. Mr Murray said that the Soviet Government was a Pacific power and in a position to understand the point of view of all countries there. Britain's responsibilities for Hong Kong also in one sense made her a Pacific power. This was why we could talk with authority to the Soviet Union. Vietnam was the Soviet Union's ally and the Soviet Union was in a position to help the Vietnamese to understand that the expulsion of so many people who had nowhere to go merely added to the burden of human misery. A pause was needed for the world to do something about those who had already left.
7. Mr Lunkov said that he did not agree that any blame attached to the Vietnamese. The Lord Privy Seal said he did not want to blame anyone.
He wanted to bring the Soviet Union's attention to a very worrying situation and ask them to consider the matter and act upon it. Mr Lunkov said that the Soviet Union opposed any deterioration in the situation in South East Asia.
They had tried to reach constructive agreement with the United States about a "zone of peace" in the Indian Ocean, but the United States had dropped the idea. The Soviet position was completely clear. The problem for the Vietnamese was not easy. The people leaving Vietnam had worked for the old regime. He would inform Moscow, but meanwhile we should talk to the Vietnamese Charge d'Affaires and stop listening to what the Chinese were saying.
It was important not to create new problems where none existed. Personally he did not see any way in which the Soviet Government could help. We were looking at the problem from two different points of view.
8. The Lord Privy Seal said in conclusion that this was a humanitarian problem of dimensions not seen for many years. hoped he could count on the Soviet Government to take full account of this.
He
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