Jan. 3, 1962 - The West was said today to be hoping for a live-and-let-live arrangement with the Soviet Union on Berlin and Germany. It would leave the situation essentially unchanged and enforced primarily by a desire on both sides to avoid armed conflict. This arrangement would give the Russians the apparently desired chance to stabilize the East German Communist regime behind the wall erected through Berlin while allowing the Allies and West Germans unabridged rights of access through East German territory to West Berlin. By sealing off East Berlin behind a concrete wall, ending the mass flights of East German refugees into West Berlin, and thus giving East German Communists a chance to revitalize their economy and society, the Communists have removed the major irritant in the situation — the “bone” that Premier Khrushchev once complained was stuck in his throat.
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