95. Telegram From Secretary of State Dulles to the Department of State0
Dulte 8. Eyes Only Acting Secretary for President from Secretary.
Dear Mr. President: [Here follows the beginning of the message.]
Toward the close of our meeting1 I took the initiative in asking General de Gaulle whether he felt that some progress was being made in carrying out his wishes to have tripartite policy discussions at Washington covering an area larger than NATO. He indicated that he thought progress was in fact being made, and while he obviously thought there was room for more progress he made no complaint. I then said that we were sympathetic toward his view that the French interests in the Mediterranean were such that there should not be discrimination against their fleet as against our Sixth Fleet. I said, so far as we were concerned, this was a matter which could be renegotiated with NATO with a view [Page 182] to achieving parity. De Gaulle said that this was a “very important” statement and it obviously gratified him.
[Here follows the remainder of the message.]
Faithfully yours, FOSTER.
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, 110.11–DU/2–659. Secret. The full text of this telegram is in volume VIII, Document 163. Also published in part in Declassified Documents, 1983, 2496.↩
- For another brief summary of this February 6 conversation, see Part 1, Document 203.↩