Ministerial Communiqué Oslo 8th-10th May 1961

Final Communiqué Chairman : Mr. D. U. Stikker. Synopsis Position on Germany confirmed - Disarmament - Challenge of less developed areas of the world - Means to help Greek and Turkish development programs considered.

The North Atlantic Council held its Spring Ministerial meeting in Oslo from 8th May to 10th May, 1961, under the chairmanship of its new Secretary General, Mr. D.U. Stikker. I Since the Atlantic countries united twelve years ago, in accordance with the United Nations Charter, to ensure their common defence, their Alliance has safeguarded peace and freedom. But the menace which drew them together is now not only military but also has world-wide political, economic, scientific and psychological aspects. The North Atlantic Alliance threatens no one. It will never be used for aggression. It seeks to eliminate war and the causes of war. But it is resolved to defend the right of its peoples to live in freedom. In the world as it is today the unity and strength of the Atlantic Alliance is essential to peace and the survival of liberty. Its collective resources--moral and material alike--are fully adequate to this task. Confident in their strength, in the will of their peoples, and in the truth of the ideals they uphold, the fifteen Atlantic nations dedicate themselves anew to building a world free from the false doctrine of continuing and inevitable conflict. II During the meeting the Ministers reviewed developments in the international situation. Aware of the intensified efforts of the Communist bloc to foment and exploit conflicts and to extend its domination over an ever-increasing area, the Ministers reaffirmed their resolve to meet this challenge. For their part the Atlantic nations are ready to make their contribution towards achieving an equitable and just settlement of outstanding political questions. They deplore Soviet unwillingness to reciprocate. Ministers noted with regret the lack of progress on the reunification of Germany. They reaffirmed their conviction that a peaceful and just solution for the problem of Germany including Berlin is to be found only on the basis of self-determination. With particular regard to Berlin, they reiterated their determination, as expressed in the Declaration of 16th December, 1958, to maintain the freedom of West Berlin and its people. As to the often repeated threat by the Soviet Union to sign a separate peace treaty, they reaffirmed the statement in the 1958 Declaration that "the denunciation by the Soviet Union of the inter-allied agreements on Berlin can in no way deprive the other parties of their rights or relieve the Soviet Union of its obligations". Disarmanent by stages under effective international control remains one of the principal objectives of the Governments of the Alliance. The Council expressed the hope that the initiation by the United States of America of consultations with the USSR for the purpose of arriving at a mutually acceptable procedure will permit the resumption of negotiations about the end of July. They agreed that the position of those members of the Alliance participating in the disarmament discussions will be developed in close consultation in the North Atlantic Council With regard to the Geneva negotiations on the suspension of nuclear tests, the Council noted with approval that the United States of America and the United Kingdom had tabled a compre- hensive draft treaty offering a basis for agreement. They regretted that the negative attitude of the Soviet Government has raised new difficulties. They expressed the hope that that Government will move promptly to join in an effective treaty as a first and significant step towards disarmament. The task of helping the less-developed areas of the world to raise their social and material standards is one of the major challenges of our time. It is a challenge which the Members of the Atlantic Alliance gladly accept; and in their examination of the world situation Ministers gave high priority to this question. They took note with satisfaction of the large volume of free world aid--dwarfing that granted by the Sino-Soviet bloc--and reaffirmed their determination to increase these efforts. The Ministers discussed the problems of long-term planning within the Alliance in the non-military sphere on the basis of a report presented by the Council in Permanent Session, dealing with the future development and role of the Alliance in the political, economic, civil emergency planning and other fields. Proceeding from this report they gave guidance to the Permanent Council for strengthening the cohesion of the Alliance. The Council recognized that much progress had been made in developing an increased unity of purpose and harmonization of action by its Members. It emphasized the importance for this purpose of close, constant and frank consultation in order to make effective the growing unity of the Atlantic Alliance. The Ministers invited the Council in Permanent Session, in close co-operation with the military authorities, to continue its studies of all aspects of the military posture of the Alliance, with a view to improving its deterrent and defensive strength. They requested the Council to submit these studies when ready and to report to the Ministerial Meeting in December. Ministers gave special attention to the economic problems affecting Greece and Turkey. Bearing in mind the important contribution made by these two countries to the common defence, they considered ways and means of assisting efforts being made by Greece and Turkey to speed up development programs and improve the living standards of their peoples.