CONFIDENTIAL
RECORD OF A MEETING BETWEEN THE SECRETARY OF STATE
Rn
Miss Myrson
Miss Maj. fumuks Mr Mor22/5
AND SENATOR GARETH EVANS, AUSTRALIAN MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
AND TRADE, MONDAY 14 MAY
Present
Secretary of State
Mr McLaren
Private Secretary
Mr Thomas
ECEIVED!
HKB 020 / 10
RY
Senator Fans
2リュー
Mr Story 2315
vv 18/5
ᏤᏤ
Mr McClelland, High Commissioner Mr David Evans, DHC
Mr Robilliard, Private Secretary
The Secretary of State had more than an hour's conversation with Senator Evans over breakfast at 1 Carlton Gardens. The conversation went well. The atmosphere was good.
1. Welcoming Senator Evans, the Secretary of State said it would be good if, on one of his future visits, he were able to stay slightly longer in London, say two or three nights rather than one, so that we could arrange a short programme for him and there could be longer discussions. There were many people here who would like to meet him. Senator Evans took note and expressed his thanks.
Cambodia
2.
Senator Evans pitched straight in on Cambodia. He handed over the letter containing the Australian ideas for a standstill. (Australia House had warned us he would be doing so.) He explained that the Australians had received a lot of feedback about Hun Sen's anxieties regarding aspects of the comprehensive settlement proposals. This had prompted them to pursue the idea of a standstill. The intention was not to abandon the process of working for a comprehensive settlement, but to assist it. Australia recognised that hitherto what it had been proposing promised high returns with no risk, whereas its new proposal also promised high return but involved some marginal risk. As usual the Khmer Rouge were the problem and much would depend on whether the Chinese would be willing to apply pressure on them. Meanwhile, the Australians had had discussions with Mig Goulding recently which indicated that the UN was now a bit more reassured about its role.
3.
The Secretary of State asked whether the Australian standstill proposal could be hitched up with the work of the P5. Evans said absolutely. He recognised that the P5 was where the action was at the moment. But there was enormous resistance among the four Cambodian parties to being seen to be the creatures of the P5. Australia's role arose because everybody talked to them. The Australians were seen to be talking to everybody, and to be able to keep a confidence.
4. In response to a question about prospects for the next P5 meeting, Mr McLaren said it might be able to make some progress although we were not too optimistic. It was difficult to keep the
6)
ARTAWC
CONFIDENTIAL
/Soviet
Page 15Page 16
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.