News In Brief

Angola says Namibia talks OK only under UN aegis

Angola said Monday it rejected South African proposals for a regional conference on Namibia unless it took place under the auspices of the United Nations, the official Angolan news agency Angop said.

In a statement carried by the agency, the Angolan Foreign Ministry also rejected any talks with guerrillas of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), who are fighting the Luanda government. (Press reports had suggested the South African proposal would promote the interests of UNITA.)

It added that any conference must discuss ways of applying UN Security Council Resolution 435 on Namibian independence ''without any outside considerations.''

The US reacted cautiously to the proposal made by South African Foreign Minister Pik Botha. State Department spokesman John Hughes said only: ''We take note of the foreign minister's latest idea.''