Joint Statement by the President and Prime Minister Macmillan at the Beginning of Their Conversations at Camp David.

THE PRIME MINISTER and I have agreed upon the following statement as we begin our conversations at Camp David:

The main object of this meeting, of course, is to consider the present state of the negotiations in Geneva for the suspension of nuclear tests. We will be studying the various aspects of the most recent Soviet proposal and what this proposal means to the free world.

This Geneva Conference has rightly attracted the attention of the entire world. It is dealing with a subject of interest to all people and not just the three countries engaged in the negotiation.

Certainly both of us are aware of the importance of arriving at a properly safeguarded agreement with the Soviet Union on the suspension of nuclear tests, both because of the intrinsic importance of this objective and because of the impetus which it might give to progress in the broader field of the reduction and control of armaments.

We are confident that out of our talks here will come agreement on how we proceed as partners in this all-important task of helping to bring a true and just peace to the world. With this explanation of the purpose of the meeting we are sure you will not expect to get too much in the way of spot news during the course of our discussions.