Nixon Refuses to Put Limitations On Air Operations in Indochina

President Nixon said yesterday in a news conference in Washington that he would not "place any limitation" on U. S. bombing operations "anywhere" in Indochina.

Nixon later qualified his remark by saying that use of tactical nuclear weapons was "of course" out of the question.

Nixon also stated that the U. S. would make "no concessions" at the Paris peace talks, although he said that the U. S. would attempt to "keep them alive."

When asked about the possibility of an invasion of the North by South Vietnamese troops, Nixon said he would not make any predictions on what action the Thieu-Ky regime might feel "impelled" to take in order to "protect its own national security."

Nevertheless, Nixon said that if the South Vietnamese government decided to invade the North, any such operation including American troops would have to be approved by him. He did not comment on the possibility of a South Vietnamese invasion without U. S. support.

Nixon said that the aim of the American-initiated invasion of Laos was to "disrupt" North Vietnamese supply lines.

The scope of American-South Vietnamese invasion "will be limited to cutting across trails used by the North Vietnamese," Nixon said. He claimed that three major trails had already been cut by the South Vietnamese.

No Time Limit

Nixon would not put any definite limit on the time that foreign troops will remain in Laos, saying that "the South Vietnamese will remain there for whatever time it will take to achieve their objective."

He did say, however, that the troops would be out of Laos "no later than April or May" when the Laotian rainy season begins.

No Troops

While Nixon refused to place any restrictions on the use of conventional air power in Indochina, he reiterated his statement that no American ground forces or advisers would be used in either Laos or Cambodia.

Despite the extension of the war to a third country, Nixon said that U. S. troop withdrawals from Indochina will continue "on schedule."

Nixon also said that the invasion "should not be interpreted by the Communist Chinese as a threat to them."