Foreign Relations of the United States, 1958–1960, Western Europe, Volume VII, Part 2

119. Letter From President Eisenhower to President de Gaulle⁰

June 5, 1959.

Dear Mr. President: I am very appreciative of your letter of May twenty-fifth¹ and of the careful thought that you have put into it. It raises subjects of the highest importance to which we must both direct our thoughts in order to achieve the harmony of purpose so essential to the free world.

I have given a great deal of thought to your letter and have come to the conclusion that we can deal with these problems best through a personal exchange of views. It had been my hope that you could come to the United States. I realize, however, that you have had tremendous tasks to perform in France and the Community which have prevented you from making such a journey. An opportunity for our meeting together may present itself, however, should the present Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Geneva reach a point where a Summit Meeting might be justified and desirable. Such a meeting would probably be held in Europe. Should this be the case, I would be delighted to accept your invitation and would be glad to come to Paris in advance of that meeting in order to see you alone. We could then discuss frankly and fully the problems which confront us and the means by which we can best concert our strengths.

Once we have a clearer indication whether or not a Summit Meeting should indeed take place, I shall write you again to see if we can get a mutually agreeable date.

While realizing the complexity of some of the problems which confront our nations, I place special significance on our basic solidarity of purpose. Particularly, I refer to your statement that in the present situation the alliance of the free nations is absolutely necessary. With our agreement on this as a starting point, I am certain that we can bring all our difficulties into line.

Please accept, Mr. President, the expression of my highest consideration and sincere friendship.

With warm personal regard,

Sincerely,

Dwight D. Eisenhower²

(Handwritten)³

Thank you very much for your generous tribute to Foster Dulles. He was a wise and courageous man and a valued friend whose fortitude and determination to maintain the peace and security of the world will be missed by all of us.

D.E.

0. Source: Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, International File. Secret. Transmitted in telegram 4753 to Paris, June 5. (Department of State, Central Files, 611.51/6–559) In telegram 4531 from Paris, June 8, Houghton reported that the signed, sealed original letter was handed to de Courcelle, Secretary General of Presidency, at 5:30 p.m. on June 8. (Ibid., 711.11–EI/6–859)
1. Document 117.
2. Printed from a copy that bears this typed signature.
3. As on the source text; presumably the postscript and initials were handwritten on the original sent to de Gaulle.