No More Blablabla

After four months and well over 3,000,000 words of largely useless talk, the West finally decided to call it quits. At the 74th meeting of the deputies' conference in Paris last week, Russia's Gromyko as usual denounced the West, called its arguments "nonsense." The French translator picturesquely rendered the word as "blablabla." Then Britain's Ernest Davies calmly served notice that the West would take no more of the Russian's "blablabla."

The Russians had consistently blocked the deputies' job, i.e., the writing of an agenda for a Big Four conference. They had turned down a Western invitation to meet in Washington for talks, insisted they would come only if the agenda for the conference included the North Atlantic Treaty and U.S. bases in Europe "as threats to the peace." Said Britain's Davies quietly: the West hoped that Russia might yet accept through the regular "diplomatic channels."

Gromyko did not get it, announced that he would make a statement at the next meeting. Davies gently explained that there would be no next meeting. Then Gromyko understood, loosed a final 30-page blast at the West, and made his farewells. Said he to the U.S.'s Philip Jessup, shaking hands politely: "See you soon." Said Jessup: "In Washington, I hope." Said Gromyko to Davies: "I hope you have a nice trip across [the Channel]."

Before going home, Davies wrote an epitaph for the Paris meeting: "The Russians tried to weaken the defense effort of the West by pressure on public opinion. They found the West indivisible . . . That much they have learned from the conference."

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