268. Memorandum of Conversation0
FOREIGN MINISTERS MEETING
Washington, D.C., April 12–14, 1960
SUBJECT
- Atomic Stockpile and Cooperation Agreements
[Here follows the same list of participants as Document 267.]
Mr. Segni said that he had recently talked with Ambassador Zellerbach who was an old friend of his since the days of the Marshall Plan. He and the Ambassador had talked about the Atomic Stockpile Agreement.1 Mr. Segni said the Italian Government was studying this question in an attempt to resolve the various financial and legal difficulties which this agreement presented. He could assure us that the maximum effort was being made to overcome these difficulties. Mr. Segni said that with respect to the Cooperation Agreement this was almost ready for signature.
The Secretary stressed the importance of getting these two agreements as soon as possible. He said it was our hope that the Cooperation Agreement could be signed by May 1 so that it could lie before Congress for sixty days prior to the estimated date of adjournment about the first of July.
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, 396.1–W/4–1360. Confidential. Drafted by Stabler and approved by S on April 22. See also Documents 267 and 269–270.↩
- A memorandum of this April 1 conversation was sent to the Department of State as an attachment to despatch 951 from Rome, April 4. Zellerbach noted that negotiations permitting the establishment of a NATO atomic stockpile had been under way for nearly a year with very limited progress. The Ambassador expressed concern at their slow progress. Segni promised an early Italian reply to NATO’s latest set of proposals. (Department of State, Central Files, 611.65/4–460)↩