Form 50 Years Ago: Towards Test-Ban

President Kennedy’s announcement on Monday that the United States, the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom had agreed to hold high level discussions on a treaty to ban nuclear tests in Moscow next month is to be warmly welcomed. The differences between the United States and the Soviet Union have narrowed down indeed, so much so that one must keep one’s fingers crossed. It does not follow, however, that a test-ban is just around the corner…

The United States has complained all along that the refusal to allow on-site inspections is proof of the the Soviet Union’s intention to flout any test-ban treaty that it may sign. The Soviet Union, on its part, has retorted that the Americans insist on on-site inspection, not because such inspection is necessary to guard against illegal testing, but because they intend to use the opportunity for espionage on Soviet territory.