Foreign Relations of the United States, 1958–1960, Berlin Crisis, 1958–1959, Volume VIII

409. Telegram From Secretary of State Herter to the Department of State⁰

Geneva, June 20, 1959, 4 p.m.

Cahto 142. Bonn, London, Paris, eyes only for Ambassador. Moscow eyes only for Chargé. USBER eyes only for Burns. Paris pass USRO eyes only for Burgess. From the Secretary.

I had Gromyko to lunch today returning his hospitality to me. He was accompanied by Zorin and Soldatov. I had Merchant and Thompson. We went over much of the ground covered by the Conference¹ with no change of position on either side. Gromyko stressed the importance which he attached to the change in their latest position from their earlier proposals in that at the end of the period of one and one half years the Foreign Ministers would meet to discuss the situation. I pointed out that the rest of the paper he had given us² made quite clear that when the Foreign Ministers met at the end of the fixed period Western rights in Berlin would virtually have been extinguished.

I said I hope that during the period the conference was in recess nothing would be done to aggravate the situation. In this connection I pointed out that our high altitude flights were not intended to be provocative but merely the result of the new planes we were using which could only fly efficiently at high altitudes. Gromyko merely reiterated the Soviet position on this question.

Herter

0. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 396.1–GE/6–2059. Secret; Priority. Repeated to Bonn, London, Moscow, Paris, Berlin.
1. At the eighteenth plenary meeting at 11 a.m. the Foreign Ministers agreed to recess the conference until July 13. For text of the final communiqué and Gromyko’s statement at this session, see Foreign Ministers Meeting, p. 295. The U.S. Delegation transmitted a brief summary of the meeting in Secto 282 from Geneva, June 20 at noon. (Department of State, Central Files, 396.1–GE/6–2059)
2. See Document 407.