Office of the Historian

185. Circular Airgram From the Department of State to the Embassy in Austria1

CA–5671
Washington, November 24, 1965, 6:32 p.m.

SUBJECT

  • U.S. Policy Toward the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC); Contact of Embassy Officers with the OPEC Secretariat

REF

  • Depts CA–386, July 10, 1963;2 CA–1436, Aug. 5, 1963;3 Geneva’s A–43, July 19, 19634

The referenced airgrams (copies attached)5 state the policy of the USG in respect of the OPEC and communications by US Reps with that organization. These are forwarded for the guidance of the Embassy now that the OPEC is headquartered in Vienna.

The US–UK policy of neutrality and non-commitment towards OPEC detailed in CA–386 (paragraph 8) has not prevented the OPEC from obtaining recognition from international organizations, specifically the ECOSOC and UNCTAD, and Austria has granted diplomatic status to the organization and its personnel. In light of these and other successes by the OPEC, the USG intends to review the present policy towards the OPEC and consider if some other policy towards the organization might more usefully serve U.S. interests. Comments from Embassy Vienna and other addressees regarding U.S. policy towards the OPEC are welcomed. Until further notice, however, the policy detailed in the referenced communications continues in effect.

Ball
  1. Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, Records of the Department of State, Central Files, 1964–66, PET 3 OPEC. Confidential. Drafted by Oliver (FSE) and cleared by Spielman (EUR/WE), Bennsky (NEA), and Ensor (FSE). Repeated to Algiers, Baghdad, Beirut, Benghazi, Bonn, Brussels, Cairo, Caracas, Djakarta, Jidda, Kuwait, Lagos, London, Ottawa, Paris, Rome, The Hague, Tehran, Tripoli, USEC Brussels, USEC Luxembourg, USRO Paris, and the Mission in Geneva.↩
  2. Not printed. (Ibid., PET 1 UK)↩
  3. Not printed. (Ibid., PET 3 OPEC)↩
  4. Not printed. (Ibid., PET 1 US–UK)↩
  5. None found attached.↩