Office of the Historian

252. Memorandum of Conversation0

PSV/MC/12
October 2, 1959.

SEGNI VISIT

SUBJECT

  • Disarmament

PARTICIPANTS

  • Italy
    • Prime Minister Segni
    • Foreign Minister Pella
    • et al.
  • US
    • The Secretary
    • Mr. Murphy
    • et al.
    • (For complete list of participants see attached)1

Prime Minister Segni referred to Italian and US membership in the Ten Power Disarmament Committee and asked if the five free nations could get together to work out arrangements for close coordination during the Ten Power Committee meetings.2 He pointed out that the Soviet Bloc countries would be in close agreement and would work together in a coordinated way. The Prime Minister stressed that disagreement among the five, even though it might be small, would not be desirable. It was important that the West not appear weak in this matter. The Prime Minister said that since the Ten Power Committee was scheduled to meet in January, it would seem opportune for the five to meet some time before then to prepare a plan of work. Italy would soon name its representatives to the Ten Power Committee. A national commission would examine with care all disarmament plans that have been submitted and Italy would, of course, have suggestions to make in the Ten Power Committee.

The Secretary expressed complete agreement with the desirability of the five-power meeting. He said it was our hope that the Ten Power Committee would not meet before February since we were having a number of studies made by the Departments of State and Defense under the direction of Mr. Coolidge.3 We hoped that we would be able to concluded [Page 562] our studies in January. The Secretary mentioned that he had recently seen the French Foreign Minister and it was probable that Jules Moch would represent France in the Ten Power Committee. The Secretary pointed out that there was one preliminary matter to be considered. We did not know exactly what would happen in the UN, but we assumed that the item on general disarmament which the Soviets had introduced would be amalgamated with other disarmament proposals under a single agenda item. It was probable that the Soviets would mount a big propaganda offensive in the UN. We thought it was likely that the UN discussion would be in general terms but we would hope that Western efforts could be concerted.

The Prime Minister reiterated his view that it would be useful to have some preparatory work done by the five before the Ten Power Committee meeting. In this manner the West would not be unprepared for the meeting of the Committee and for the propaganda the Soviets will make. It was his view that the five-power talks should take place while the national commissions were preparing individual country positions. He commented that in Italian opinion the matter of safeguards and controls could not be separated from the general disarmament question and should be considered together. The Secretary said he thought these preparatory contacts could be arranged.

  1. Source: Department of State, Conference Files: Lot 64 D 560, CF 1490. Secret. Drafted by Stabler and approved by M and S on October 26. Eleven separate memoranda of this conversation were prepared; see Documents 253–258. Memoranda on French nuclear testing (PSV/MC/13), Communist China (PSV/MC/17), Law of the Sea (PSV/MC/21), and Berlin (PSV/MC/22) are in Department of State, Conference Files: Lot 64 D 560, CF 1490.↩
  2. Not printed.↩
  3. See footnote 2, Document 243.↩
  4. See footnote 3, Document 243.↩