Office of the Historian

222. Memorandum of Conversation1

Washington, December 1, 1966.

SUBJECT

  • Italian Membership in NATO Nuclear Planning Group

PARTICIPANTS

  • Italy
    • Ambassador Sergio Fenoaltea, Italian Embassy
    • Mr. Rinaldo Petrignani, Counselor, Italian Embassy
  • United States
    • The Secretary
    • William B. Dozier—EUR/AIS

Ambassador Fenoaltea said that he wished to raise very briefly the question of composition of the Nuclear Planning Group. The matter will have to be decided within the next two weeks and he wanted the Secretary to understand fully the vital importance to the Italian Government of obtaining permanent Italian membership in the NPG. The Secretary was of course aware of the great difficulties that would be caused in Europe by a decision which upset the balance among major countries of Western Europe. The Ambassador stated that three years ago, when the question of possible expansion of the NATO Standing Group was under consideration, he had been given firm assurances here that the group would not be expanded to include Germany without also including Italy. In the present circumstances in Europe and in light of the current domestic political scene in Italy it is now even more important that Italy receive the same status as the other major NATO members.

[Page 504]

The Secretary said that he was well aware of Italian views on this matter and wished to reassure the Ambassador that there had been no change in the U.S. position of firm support for Italy as a permanent member of the NPG.

  1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, DEF 12 NATO. Confidential. Drafted by Dozier and approved in S on December 3. According to Rusk’s Appointment Book the conversation was held at 2:35 p.m. (JOHNSON Library) The source text is labeled “Part I of III.”↩