Office of the Historian

181. Memorandum of Conversation0

US/MC/34
Paris, May 18, 1960, 11 a.m.

MEETING OF CHIEFS OF STATE AND HEADS OF GOVERNMENT

PARTICIPANTS

  • United States
    • The Secretary of State
  • United Kingdom
    • Foreign Minister Selwyn Lloyd
    • (List of additional participants attached)1
  • France
    • Foreign Minister Couve de Murville

SUBJECT

  • Berlin Contingency Planning

The Foreign Ministers agreed that, in the light of developments in connection with the meeting of the Chiefs of State and Heads of Government, it would be prudent to have a further look at Berlin contingency planning.

A special tripartite working group was instructed to prepare immediately a brief report which the Foreign Ministers might submit to the meeting of the Heads of Government at 5:00 p.m.

To M. Couve de Melville’s suggestion that all planning activities might henceforward be centralized in Paris, the Secretary replied that it was considered preferable to continue to coordinate planning through the Washington Ambassadorial Group. This was especially true because Ambassador Lodge had just referred to planning for possible action in the United Nations.

Mr. Lloyd said that more attention should be given to the problems which would be created by harassment of civilian access, a possibility which troubled the Germans very much. The Foreign Ministers agreed that this matter should be given study jointly with the Germans. On Mr. Kohler’s suggestion, it was agreed that there might be preliminary work in the Washington Ambassadorial Group, to be followed by detailed planning, as necessary, at Bonn and by “Live Oak”.

M. Couve de Murville stated that it would be advisable not to let it be publicly known that renewed attention was being given to Berlin contingency planning.

  1. Source: Department of State, Conference Files: Lot 64 D 559, CF 1664. Secret. Drafted by McKiernan and approved in S on May 20. The conversation took place at Quai d’Orsay. See also Documents 182 and 183.↩
  2. Not printed.↩