Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961–1963, Volume V, Soviet Union

356. Memorandum From the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs (Harriman) to Secretary of State Rusk⁰

Washington, September 20, 1963.

SUBJECT

• US/USSR Agreement on Exchange of Civil Air Transport Rights

As Chairman of the Interagency Committee on International Aviation Policy I convened a meeting of representatives of the member agencies on September 18¹ to consider the desirability of signing at this time the bilateral Air Transport Agreement that was negotiated in 1961. The general consensus of the meeting was that there were no insuperable difficulties to prevent consummation of the Agreement if this were considered advisable for political reasons. However, the USSR would acquire certain political advantages. The operation of the route would not be expected, at least in its initial stages, to prove profitable for the designated United States airline. Furthermore it was noted that the Russian airline would gain much more in route mileage than the designated United States airline, which already operates transatlantic schedules, and would additionally have the advantage of drawing traffic from points behind Moscow. Therefore it was felt that the USSR should make concessions for United States concurrence in the signing. Possible concessions suggested were approval of a leased teletype line to our Embassy in Moscow and conclusion of a consular convention.

The meeting also recognized that if an agreement were signed, our policies with regard to aviation relations between the United States and the Soviet Bloc states would have to be reviewed and our attitude toward third-country aviation relations with Soviet Bloc states would have to be re-considered. Our current efforts to obtain support for denial of Bloc airline rights in developing countries and further to prevent Bloc operations through these countries to third countries, e.g., Cuba, would be made more difficult.

The question of the time interval needed between the signing of the agreement and its going into operational effect was also brought up at the meeting. Mr. Halaby, the Federal Aviation Agency Administrator, pointed out that although the technical annex to the proposed agreement was still unsatisfactory, execution of some of its provisions could probably not be completed in less than six to nine months. It is understood that Pan American World Airways would likewise wish a commensurate time lag before initiating its service. Therefore some determination will have to be made on when the Agreement will become mutually effective for operational purposes. This is already provided for in the Agreement by a stipulation that the contracting parties will by a subsequent exchange of notes specify a date on which the agreed services may commence.

0. Source: Department of State, Central Files, AV 4 US-USSR. Secret. Drafted by Henry T. Snowden, Chief of the Aviation Division, and concurred in by Thompson and G. Griffith Johnson (E). A handwritten notation on the source text indicates that Rusk saw it.
1. A list of agency representation at this meeting is attached, but not printed.