Remarks on Introducing the Attorney General to the Press following His Return from Asia and London
Ladies and gentlemen:
The Attorney General has just returned from a very important mission which he carried out for the President and our country. He made a report to the Acting Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense, and the ranking members of the foreign Relations and Armed Services Committees of the Congress.
We are of the unanimous opinion that he carried out his assignment constructively and with real achievement. We commend him for his efforts, and I have asked him to come here and make a brief report to you on the results of his mission.
I will see you a little later at the Lehman ceremony.
Note: The President spoke at 9:30 a.m. in the fish Room at the White House. Attorney General Robert f. Kennedy had just returned from a 13-day mission to the far East where he represented the President in talks with leaders of Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia regarding the dispute over the new Malaysian federation. He also met with leaders in Japan, Korea, Thailand, and the United Kingdom.
The Attorney General told members of the press that Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines had agreed to meet in Bangkok, the first week in February, in order to make an effort to resolve their difficulties. During that period, he added, a cease-fire would take place in that part of the world.
The Attorney General stated that the proposed conference was a step forward. "There are obviously great problems still ahead. There are antagonisms, and there is mistrust between the various nations. There are differences of approach and differences on positions. But I think with good will and with genuine effort that the conference has a chance of success."
The full text of Mr. Kennedy's remarks is published in the Department of State Bulletin (vol. 50, p. 239), for the "Lehman ceremony" see Item 157.
Lyndon B. Johnson, Remarks on Introducing the Attorney General to the Press following His Return from Asia and London Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/240068
