Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Volume XV, Germany and Berlin

151. Memorandum of Conversation¹

Bonn, June 9, 1966, 11:30 a.m.

SUBJECT

• U.S.-German Relations

PARTICIPANTS

• [Here follows the same list of participants as Document 150.]

The Chancellor would like to ask one thing—that we not talk about acute issues between us in public. He referred specifically to the question of whether there would be a reduction of American forces in the absence of full offset payments. The German press is unfortunately not yet mature. It tends to distort such issues. In fact, he would prefer no public discussion at all of such matters.

The Secretary replied that he would report what the Chancellor had said to the President. To be quite frank, we have not yet discovered ourselves how to keep Government officials from talking. The President greatly values the friendship of the Chancellor, and would not wish to do anything that disturbed him. Secretary Rusk thought it would be desirable for the Chancellor and the President to correspond with each other more often—particularly if they are troubled by important matters. He knows this to be the President’s wish.

1. Source: Department of State, Conference Files: Lot 67 D 305, CF 30. Secret; Exdis. Drafted by McGhee and approved in S on August 12. The source text is marked “Part 6 of 11.” Parts 5 and 8 are printed as Documents 150 and 152. Part 2, a discussion of French and NATO issues, is printed in Foreign Relations, 1964–1968, vol. XIII, pp. 412–414.