asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about the Geneva Conference on Rhodesia.

Mr. Richard's objective remains to secure an early agreement on the central issue: the structure of the interim government. Formal meetings on this question have already started at which the parties concerned have set out their respective positions. For their part, Her Majesty's Government are ready to play a direct role in the transitional government if it is the general view that this would be helpful. The nature of this British presence would of course depend on the structure agreed for the interim government.