136. Editorial Note
The Ministerial Meeting of the North Atlantic Council, held in Copenhagen May 5–7, was attended by the Foreign Ministers and NATO Permanent Representatives of the 15 member countries. The U.S. Delegation was headed by Secretary of State John Foster Dulles and included advisers from the Departments of State and Defense. A list of the delegation is printed in Department of State Bulletin, May 26, 1958, pages 851–852.
Secretary Dulles and his party left Washington on May 2; his departure statement is printed ibid., page 851. After a stop in New Hampshire to deliver an address, he arrived in Copenhagen at 6:25 p.m., May 3. At 10:15 p.m., Dulles met with C. Burke Elbrick, Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs, and G. Frederick Reinhardt, Counselor, to discuss the possible Soviet insistence on the principle of “parity” for representation at a forthcoming Summit meeting. No record of this conversation has been found.
The most extensive body of documentation on this NATO Ministerial Meeting is in Department of State, Conference Files: Lot 63 D123, CF 997–1017. [Page 321] Briefing papers are in CF 997; press releases and NATO committee reports are in CF 998. Copies of the verbatim records of the NAC meetings are in CF 999–1000 and CF 1011–1012; no summary records of the sessions have been found. CF 1001 contains Orders of the Day for the May 2–12 period. Copies of the Secretary’s speeches are in CF 1002. CF 1003–1005 contain miscellaneous administrative materials. CF 1006 contains a complete set of memoranda of conversation between the U.S. and other NATO Delegations during the Copenhagen meetings. CF 1007–1008 contain, respectively, copies of the Secto–Tosec and Dulte-Tedul telegrams. CF 1009–1013 contain a chronological record of meetings for the period May 2–7, additional copies of memoranda of conversation, and collections of telegraphic exchanges between the Secretary’s party and the Department of State. CF 1013 also contains copies of the draft communiqué and the final communiqué. Reports and documents discussing preparations for the meeting and summarizing the proceedings are ibid., Central Files 396.1, 396.1-CO, and 740.5.
On Sunday, May 4, Reinhardt, who served as coordinator for the Ministerial Meeting, met with Ambassador Burgess and other members of the delegation to prepare for a meeting with the Secretary which was to follow. A memorandum summarizing this meeting is ibid., Conference Files: Lot 63 D123, CF 1010. At 11:25 a.m., Dulles met with Burgess, Reinhardt, Peterson, and members of the delegation; no record of the meeting has been found. Following lunch, Dulles and Burgess met with NATO Secretary General Paul-Henri Spaak at 4:20 p.m. A memorandum of their conversation (USDel/MC–1) is printed as Document 137.
At 5 p.m., Dulles, Burgess, and members of the delegation met with British Foreign Secretary Selwyn Lloyd and members of the British Delegation to discuss matters of mutual concern; see Document 138. Separate memoranda of their conversations on the situation in Lebanon (USDel/MC–2), British-Libyan aid discussion (USDel/MC–3), parity at the Summit (USDel/MC–4), atomic testing (USDel/MC–6), the British-Icelandic fishing dispute (USDel/MC–7), relations with UAR President Nasser (USDel/MC–8), Algeria (USDel/MC–9), Cyprus (USDel/MC–10), Buraimi (USDel/MC–11), Yemen (USDel/MC–12), U.S. aircraft for Iraq (USDel/MC–13), Indonesia (USDel/MC–14), and the tripartite declaration on Berlin (USDel/MC–32) are in Department of State, Conference Files: Lot 63 D 123, CF 1006 and 1010. Dulles’ memorandum for the record of his conversation with Lloyd on the tripartite declaration on Berlin is ibid., CF 1010. His conversation with Lloyd on British proposals for disengagement and European security was reported in Secto 12, May 5. (ibid., Central Files, 740.5/5–558)
On Monday, May 5, Dulles and Elbrick met with Italian Foreign Minister Giuseppe Pella and Adolfo Alessandrini, Secretary General of the Italian Foreign Office. A memorandum of their conversation on Italian [Page 322] participation in a summit meeting (USDel/MC–5) is ibid., Conference Files: Lot 63 D 123, CF 1006 and 1011. At 9:50 a.m., the opening ceremonies of the NATO Ministerial Meeting began. They were summarized in Secto 19, May 5. (ibid., Central Files, 396.1-CO/5–558) Copies of speeches at the ceremonies by Danish Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hans Christian S. Hansen, Luxembourg Foreign Minister Joseph Bech, and Spaak are ibid., Conference Files: Lot 63 D123, CF 1011. The first plenary session, which began at 10:15 a.m., is summarized in Document 139. At 12:40 p.m., Frederick E. Nolting, Jr., Deputy NATO Representative, conducted a debriefing for members of the U.S. Delegation; no record of this debriefing, or subsequent ones, has been found. Secretary Dulles, Burgess, Elbrick, and Jacques J. Reinstein, Director of the Office of German Affairs, had lunch with German Foreign Minister Heinrich von Brentano and other German officials at 1 p.m. A summary of their conversation on a possible summit meeting and the reunification of Germany (USDel/MC–31) is in Department of State, Conference Files: Lot 63 D 123, CF 1006 and 1011. Their conversation on Dulles’ forthcoming visit to Berlin was reported in Secto 18, May 5. (ibid., Central Files, 110.11-DU/5–558)
The afternoon session of the Ministerial Meeting convened at 3:30 p.m.; see Document 140. Nolting conducted a debriefing for the U.S. Delegation at 5:30 p.m. At some point during the day, Dulles met with Sidney E. Smith, Canadian Secretary of State for External Affairs, to discuss grant aid to Lebanon. Their conversation was summarized in Secto 13, May 5. (Department of State, Central Files, 411.83A41/5–558) The conversation between an unnamed member of the U.S. Delegation and A. Ross of the British Delegation on Cyprus was reported in Secto 16, May 5. (ibid., 747C.00/5–558) Their conversation on Italian post-independence aid to Somalia was reported in Secto 17, May 5. (ibid., 865.0077/5–558) A conversation between members of the U.S. Delegation and Danish Chief of Defense Admiral Erhard J.G. Qvistgaard on Danish requirements under MC–70 was summarized in Secto 15, May 5. (ibid., 759.5-MSP/5–558) The Secretary’s message to the President reporting on the day’s events is printed as Document 141.
On Tuesday, May 6 at 9:45 a.m., Dulles and other members of the delegation met with Turkish Foreign Minister Fatin Rüstü Zorlu and other members of the Turkish Delegation. Memoranda of their conversations on Lebanon (USDel/MC–16), aircraft for Iraq (USDel/MC–17), Turkish financial difficulties (USDel/MC–18), and relations with Nasser (USDel/MC–19) are in Department of State, Conference Files: Lot 63 D 123, CF 1006 and 1012. The morning session, which started at 10 a.m., is summarized in Documents 142 and 143. At 12:10 p.m., Nolting held a debriefing session for the delegation. The May 6 afternoon session began at 4 p.m.; see Document 144. At 6:15 p.m., Nolting held a debriefing [Page 323] session for the delegation. Dulles’ message to the President on the day’s events is printed as Document 145.
At 7:15 p.m., Dulles met with Llewellyn E. Thompson, Ambassador to the Soviet Union; no record of their conversation has been found. At 8 p.m., Dulles, Elbrick, and Thompson attended a dinner at the U.S. Embassy with British and French guests. Dulles’ conversation with Lloyd and Jean J. Laloy, Director of European Affairs in the French Foreign Ministry, on the decision to support Camille Chamoun, President of Lebanon, was reported in Dulte 10, May 6. (Department of State, Central Files, 783A.00/5–658) Memoranda of Dulles’ conversations with Lloyd on U.S.-British relations in Iraq (USDel/MC–20), recent developments in Indonesia (USDel/MC–21), Prime Minister Macmillan’s proposal for a Cyprus condominium (USDel/MC–22), the possibility of Lloyd accompanying Macmillan to Washington in June (USDel/MC–23), the suspension of nuclear testing (USDel/MC–24), U.S.-British relations (USDel/MC–25), Duncan Sandys’ paper on comprehensive disarmament (USDel/MC–26), and Lloyd’s proposed trip to Poland (USDel/MC–27) are ibid., Conference Files: Lot 63 D 123, CF 1006. A copy of Sandys’ paper is ibid. Dulte 17, May 7, transmitted Dulles’ message to the President on his reactions to the paper. (ibid., Central Files, 740.5611/5–758)
On Wednesday, May 7, Dulles met with the U.S. Delegation at 9:30 a.m.; no record of the meeting has been found. The morning session of the Ministerial Meeting, which began at 10:30, is summarized in Document 146. During the session, Dulles and Dutch Foreign Minister Joseph M.A.H. Luns privately discussed Indonesian designs on West New Guinea. A memorandum of their conversation (USDel/MC–30) is in Department of State, Conference Files: Lot 63 D 123, CF 1006) Dulles participated in the final afternoon session, which began at 4:30 p.m. No verbatim record of the plenary session has been found. Secto 51, May 7, briefly noted that the session began at 4:30 p.m. and was devoted entirely to the revised draft communiqué. The communiqué was agreed to at 6:15 p.m. and the meeting concluded. (ibid., Central Files, 396.1-CO/5–758) Secto 50, May 7, transmitted a joint press statement by the U.S., British, and French Foreign Ministers recognizing the possibility of including other countries, such as Italy, in a summit conference. (ibid.) A transcript of the Secretary’s press backgrounder beginning at 6:45 p.m. was transmitted in Secto 55, May 8. (ibid., 396.1-CO/5–858) At some point during the day on May 7, Dulles met with Lloyd on British support costs in Germany; see Document 147. Dulles also met with Greek Foreign Minister Michael Pesmatzoglu regarding a possible visit by Nasser to Greece. A memorandum of their conversation (USDel/MC–29) is in Department of State, Conference Files: Lot 63 D 123, CF 1006. A summary analysis of the Copenhagen Ministerial Meeting was [Page 324] transmitted in Secto 63, May 10. (ibid., Central Files, 396.1-CO/5–1058) The final communiqué, May 7, is printed in Department of State Bulletin, May 26, 1958, pages 850–851.
On Thursday, May 8, Dulles and his advisers went to Berlin. Documentation on this visit, including a collection of telegraphic correspondence between the party and the Department of State, is in Department of State, Conference Files: Lot 63 D 123, CF 1014. Dulles spoke at a reception given in his honor by the Berlin city government on May 8; for text of his speech, see Department of State Bulletin, May 26, 1958, pages 854–857. Documentation on Dulles’ visit is printed in volume VIII.
On the evening of May 8, Dulles left for Paris where he attended the Western European Chiefs of Mission meeting which was held May 9–13. Dulles attended the meetings on May 9 and 10. Documentation on the meetings is in Department of State, Conference Files: Lot 63 D 123, CF 1015–1016. CF 1015 contains an agenda and typescripts of remarks of Secretary Dulles and Llewellyn E. Thompson. CF 1016 contains memoranda of conversation between Dulles and French officials on various matters of mutual concern. Regarding the Chiefs of Mission meeting, see Document 21.
Secretary Dulles left Paris on the evening of May 10, stopped in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and returned to Washington on May 12. Documents on his Minneapolis trip are in Department of State, Conference Files: Lot 63 D 123, CF 1017.
The following documents are arranged in the order in which the meetings took place.