December 1961-January 1962: First Meetings Between Ambassador Thompson and Foreign Minister Gromyko
242. Memorandum From the Legal Adviser (Chayes) to Secretary of State Rusk
Source: Department of State, Central Files, 762.00/12-1961. Secret. Drafted and initialed by Chayes and sent through McGhee and Kohler.
243. Memorandum of Conversation
Source: Department of State, Central Files, 762.00/12-2161. Secret. The source text bears no drafting information, but it was approved by the White House on December 29 and in S on December 30. President Kennedy and Prime Minister Macmillan met in Bermuda December 21-22.
244. Memorandum of Conversation
Source: Department of State, Central Files, 762.00/12-2261. Secret. Drafted by Tyler and approved in the White House on December 29 and in S on December 30.
246. Letter From the Ambassador to Yugoslavia (Kennan) to the Ambassador to the Soviet Union (Thompson)
Source: Department of State, Central Files, 762.00/12-2661. Secret; Informal. Copies were sent to Rusk and the White House.
248. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in the Soviet Union
Source: Department of State, Central Files, 611.61/12-2861. Secret; Priority. Drafted by Hillenbrand, cleared by Bohlen and SOV, and approved and initialed by Rusk. Repeated to Bonn, Paris, London, and Berlin.
249. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in the Soviet Union
Source: Department of State, Central Files, 611.61/12-2961. Secret. Drafted by Bohlen and Rusk and approved and signed by Rusk.
250. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in France
Source: Department of State, Central Files, 762.0221/1-162. Secret; Niact.
251. Telegram From the Embassy in the Soviet Union to the Department of State
Source: Department of State, Central Files, 762.0021/1-262. Confidential; Priority; Eyes Only; Limited Distribution. Repeated to London, Paris, Bonn, and Berlin. In telegram 1832, January 2, 3 p.m., Thompson sent a preliminary report on his conversation with Gromyko, which noted that the only item Gromyko expressed some interest in was the international access authority. (Ibid., 762.00/1-262)
252. Telegram From the Embassy in the Soviet Union to the Department of State
Source: Department of State, Central Files, 762.00/1-362. Secret; Eyes Only. Repeated to London, Paris, Bonn, and Berlin.
253. Memorandum From the Assistant to the President’s Military Representative (Legere) to the Military Representative (Taylor)
Source: National Defense University, Taylor Papers, Box 38, 510-Partition of Berlin. Top Secret. Attached to a similar but longer memorandum from Legere, dated January 8.
254. Telegram From the Department of State to the Mission at Berlin
Source: Department of State, Central Files, 762.00/1-462. Secret; Priority. Drafted by Day, cleared by SOV, and approved and initialed by Hillenbrand. Repeated to Bonn, Paris, London, and Moscow.
255. Letter From Secretary of State Rusk to the Ambassador to Yugoslavia (Kennan)
Source: Department of State, Rusk Files: Lot 72 D 192, Chron. Secret; Informal. Drafted by Rusk.
256. Memorandum of Conversation
Source: Department of State, Secretary’s Memoranda of Conversation: Lot 65 D 330. Confidential. Drafted by Vine on January 10 and approved in S on January 18. On January 5 Rusk had also discussed Berlin at length with Ambassador Ormsby Gore. A memorandum of their conversation, which dealt mainly with the international access authority, is ibid., Central Files, 762.00/1-562)
257. Telegram From the Embassy in the Soviet Union to the Department of State
Source: Department of State, Central Files, 762.00/1-962. Secret.
258. Memorandum of Conversation
Source: Department of State, Central Files, 762.00/1-1162. Secret. Drafted by Freshman on January 11 and approved in S on January 18. Erhard was in the United States to speak at a dinner of the Economic Club in New York on January 10.
259. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in the Soviet Union
Source: Department of State, Central Files, 611.61/1-1062. Secret; Priority; Verbatim Text. Drafted by Hillenbrand; cleared by Bohlen, Bundy, and Rusk (in draft); and approved and initialed by Kohler. Repeated to Bonn, Paris, London, and Berlin. On January 5 the Department of State had transmitted to Thompson a preliminary draft of these instructions (telegram 1580 to Moscow; ibid., 611.61/1-562), which were the same in substance as those transmitted here. Thompson had commented briefly on them in telegram 1886 from Moscow, January 6. (Ibid., 611.61/1-662)
260. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in the Soviet Union
Source: Department of State, Central Files, 762.00/1-1062. Secret; Priority. Drafted by Bohlen and Hillenbrand, cleared by Rusk and Bundy, and initialed and approved by Kohler.
261. Telegram From the Mission at Berlin to the Department of State
Source: Department of State, Central Files, 762.00/1-1162. Secret; Priority.
262. Memorandum for the Record
Source: National Defense University, Taylor Papers, Box 34, Clay Cables. Secret. Prepared by Legere. Copies were sent to Bundy, Kohler, Nitze, Lemnitzer, McCone, and Colonel Ewell.
263. Letter From President de Gaulle to President Kennedy
Source: Department of State, Presidential Correspondence: Lot 66 D 204. No classification marking. The source text is a Department of State translation.
264. Telegram From the Embassy in the Soviet Union to the Department of State
Source: Department of State, Central Files, 662.001/1-1262. Confidential; Priority. In telegram 1932 from Moscow, January 12, 6 p.m., Thompson briefly summarized his conversation with Gromyko and stated that the Soviet position was completely negative. (Ibid., 762.00/1-1262) In his next telegram Thompson speculated that the tough Soviet position might be 1) a usual negotiating tactic, 2) an attempt to draw out the talks, 3) a desire for an impasse in order to talk directly with the Germans, 4) a desire for an impasse in the hope of forcing a summit meeting, or 5) a Soviet preference for a breakdown in order to proceed with a separate treaty. (Telegram 1933; ibid.)
265. Telegram From the Department of State to the Mission at Berlin
Source: Department of State, Central Files, 762.00/1-1262. Secret.
266. Telegram From the Embassy in Germany to the Department of State
Source: Department of State, Central Files, 762.00/1-1562. Secret; Priority; Eyes Only. Repeated to London and Paris.
267. Telegram From the Embassy in the Soviet Union to the Department of State
Source: Department of State, Central Files, 762.00/1-1562. Secret; Priority.
268. Memorandum From President Kennedy to Secretary of State Rusk
Source: Department of State, Central Files, 762.00/1-1562. Secret; Eyes Only. Attached to the source text was a brief memorandum from Bundy to Rusk, also dated January 15, in which Bundy noted that the President’s memorandum had overtaken a longer memorandum along similar lines, which was attached for Rusk’s information.
269. Memorandum of Telephone Conversation Between Secretary of State Rusk and the Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs (Kohler)
Source: Department of State, Rusk Files: Lot 72 D 192. No classification marking. Drafted by Bernau.
270. Telegram From the Mission at Berlin to the Department of State
Source: Department of State, Central Files, 762.0221/1-1762. Secret; Priority; Eyes Only.