338. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in Iceland1
279248. Subject: President Reagan’s Reply to Prime Minister.
1. (C) Starting at para two below is the text of President Reagan’s reply to Prime Minister Palsson’s September 2 letter on scientific whaling. You should provide this text to the Prime Minister at the earliest possible time. A copy of the letter will be given to Ambassador Ingvarsson by A/S Negroponte today, September 6.
2. (U) Begin text:
Dear Mr. Prime Minister:
I wish to thank you for your thoughtful and important letter of September 2.2 The longstanding special relationship between Iceland and the United States is of great personal importance to me and I regret that it has been troubled by the scientific whaling dispute. During my visit to Reykjavik in October of 1986, I was impressed by the warmth and strength of Iceland’s ties to the United States.3
I agree that we must preserve and strengthen this relationship while at the same time remaining mindful of the legitimate concerns of each government. Clearly, we have a difference of views with respect [Page 971] to Iceland’s taking of a number of whales. I firmly believe these differences can and should be resolved in the spirit of friendship and cooperation that has been the basis of US–Iceland relations for many decades. I am heartened by the amount of progress that has been made thus far by working together to resolve these differences. I also want you to know that I appreciate the importance and the difficulties involved in Iceland’s decision to modify voluntarily its scientific program and continue its cooperation with the International Whaling Commission. I hope that you can appreciate the efforts that the Secretary of Commerce has made thus far in deferring certification under the Pelly Amendment since the IWC annual meeting.
I recognize and appreciate the progress which Iceland has already made. Your government’s most recent proposal4 contained a number of constructive elements, and I directed the Attorney General to review the legal obligations of the Secretary of Commerce in this matter. The Attorney General concludes that the Secretary of Commerce, in the present circumstances, is under a direct legal obligation to certify Iceland if additional whales are taken during this season.
This is a matter of considerable and immediate concern to me because, as I understand it, Iceland intends to resume its scientific whaling program on September 10. In view of the great importance both our governments attach to this issue, and the potential implications of the situation, I believe it is incumbent upon us to be sure that we have exhausted every opportunity to reach a mutually satisfactory resolution of this matter.
With that goal in mind, I would suggest that further consultations be held between our governments at the earliest possible time. It is crucial that we explore every possible means of resolving this matter before any action is taken which might make a mutually satisfactory solution impossible to achieve. I look forward to your earliest response to my proposal for further constructive talks, and I personally urge you to maintain the pause in your scientific research whaling program in the interim.
Sincerely, Ronald Reagan
- Source: Department of State, Central Foreign Policy File, D870732–0680. Confidential; Niact Immediate. Drafted by Perlow; cleared by Wilkinson, Negroponte, Smith, Mueller, Lellenberg, Golson, and Flournoy; and approved by Wilkinson. Sent Immediate for information to the Department of Commerce. Sent for information to the Department of Defense and the White House.↩
- See Document 335.↩
- Reagan was in Iceland for a summit meeting with Gorbachev. Documentation is in Foreign Relations, 1981–1988, vol. V, Soviet Union, March 1985–October 1986.↩
- See Document 335.↩