Repeat Washington, London, Paris, NATO Paris, Canberra (OpImmediate) (Information).

15TH UNGA: ATTENDANCE BY HEADS OF GOVERNMENT

The press this morning features the announcement that Khrushchev will head USSR delegation to the 15th Session of UNGA. This is linked with the story that President Eisenhower will also attend to deliver a major speech in reply to Khrushchev. Reports from London and Paris indicate that further consideration is being given to whether Heads of Government would attend. It is believed that Soviet Bloc leaders will do so. Castro is described as a “likely joiner.”

2. We are wondering what the response will be from the other geographical areas represented in UN. Even before Khrushchev’s plans were firm President Nkrumah had indicated his intention of attending UNGA for a short time. It would be interesting to know whether other African-Asian and Latin American Heads of Government have similar intentions. We assume that you will continue to consult with your colleagues about the possibilities.

3. If there should be a wide-spread move on the part of Heads of Government to attend UNGA, it would give USSR a considerable propaganda advantage for having taken the initiative. We could expect as well that USSR would follow this up with further moves designed to maintain the initiative in the field of disarmament. There might be as well an extension of Soviet propaganda attacks on USA which began with U-2 incident. The net effect for UNGA would be a propaganda jamboree in which Western powers might find themselves on the defensive. Accordingly, there might be some advantage in trying to minimize the response to Khrushchev’s initiative.

4. Canadian representatives in Washington, London and Paris and Canberra should seek from the appropriate authorities official reaction to Khrushchev move. Prime Minister is most anxious to have an early indication of the intentions of Prime Ministers Macmillan and Menzies. In London, as well, there may be some indication of the reaction of other Commonwealth governments.

5. The Minister is returning to Ottawa on Sunday evening. We should like to be in a position to report fully to him on this matter early on September 5.