Office of the Historian

475. Memorandum From the Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs (Cleveland) to Secretary of State Rusk1

Washington, March 3, 1964.

SUBJECT

  • U.S. Support for UN Cyprus Force

Assuming the resolution goes through the Security Council this afternoon, the Secretary General will be trying to organize the UN Cyprus Force.

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We need to make clear, if possible today, what we are prepared to do in support of the UN’s peacekeeping mission in Cyprus. We have the legal authority, in the UN Participation Act, to transfer supplies and services to the UN without reimbursement.

The Department of Defense tells us that the troops of other nations can be airlifted, upon request of the Secretary of State, with the cost absorbed by Defense.

When it comes to transferring equipment and supplies to other countries or to an international organization, the Defense Department would have to seek reimbursement. This could be done:

a.
Through the military appropriation process;
b.
Through a special appropriation requested under the Foreign Assistance Act; or
c.
Through the use of the FY 1964 AID Contingency Fund.

If a U.S. voluntary contribution were required in the form of cash—a distinct possibility if the operation is prolonged—it would have to be funded from this year’s AID Contingency Fund or from an item added to Chapter 3 of the Foreign Assistance Act for FY 1965.

The relevant language from the UN Participation Act and the Foreign Assistance Act is attached at Tab A.2

We recommend, therefore, that when it becomes necessary Ambassador Stevenson be authorized to say something like this to the Secretary General—and in his discretion in the Security Council:

“We assume that each country participating in the Force will provide its own logistic support. However, in keeping with our tradition of support for United Nations peacekeeping operations, the United States will stand ready to assist, on request of the Secretary General, in airlifting the troops of those participating countries which lack the necessary air transport capability.”3

  1. Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, Central Files 1964–66, POL 23–8 CYP. Confidential.↩
  2. Attached but not printed.↩
  3. For text of the Stevenson statement, see Department of State Bulletin, March 23, 1964, pp. 465–466.↩