164. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in Germany1
Washington, August 29, 1966, 4:06 p.m.
37036. NATUS. Subject: U.S. Submission on Reunification to POLAD Meeting on East/West Relations.
- 1.
- Before formulating U.S. submission to POLAD meeting, we believe it essential to discuss approach to reunification question with FRG for German reactions and ideas on how matter should be handled.
- 2.
- Embassy Bonn is requested, therefore, to raise this matter with FonOff. Embassy should say that we believe that major Western initiatives on reunification at this time do not offer any more hope of moving Soviet Union than in the past. This notwithstanding, we remain firmly committed to reunification as major goal of our policy and we are prepared to consider any initiatives that Germans themselves believe might have useful results. Furthermore, we support Western initiatives in fields other than German reunification in hope and belief that these may eventually create climate in which prospects for reunification might be improved. In that connection we believe the German policy of seeking improvement in relations between FRG and Eastern Europe makes a significant contribution to the gradual change we seek. We are prepared to support the German effort and would welcome suggestions from FRG on ways in whch we can assist.
- 3.
- In light of above, we would appreciate German views on best approach to be taken in the NATO context. Depending on German reaction, we are not inclined to include specific initiatives on reunification during POLAD meeting but would be prepared to consider other German proposals and support those which offer possibilities of furthering our policy objectives.
- 4.
- In view of time element involved, we would appreciate early report on German views concerning how reunification should be approached at Paris meeting.2
Rusk