24. Memorandum of Conversation1
Washington, June 6, 1968, 1 p.m.
SUBJECT
- Nuclear Storage, Nuclear Overflights and Chemical and Biological Warfare Testing in Greenland
PARTICIPANTS
- Foreign Minister of Denmark, Poul Hartling
- Permanent Under Secretary, Danish Foreign Office, Paul Fischer
- Ambassador of Denmark, Torben Ronne
- The Secretary
- Under Secretary of the Treasury Frederick Deming
- Export-Import Bank Vice Chairman Walter Sauer
- USIA Director Leonard Marks
- Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Atomic Energy Affairs, Carl Walska
- Assistant Secretary John M. Leddy
- Ambassador William Leonhart
- Country Director George Mason Ingram
The Foreign Minister expressed his and his Government’s gratification at the exchange of notes precluding the storage of nuclear weapons in Greenland and the overflight of Greenland by planes carrying nuclear weapons without the Danish Government’s consent. He welcomed the Secretary’s assurance that the US has not conducted chemical/biological warfare tests in Greenland, and thanked him for his assurances that it would not do so in the future as well as for his understanding that any such move would require the consent of the Government of Denmark
- Source: Department of State, Danish Desk Files: Lot 73 D 167, Thule Crash—Internal Memos. Secret. Drafted by Ingram (EUR/SCAN). The memorandum is Part III of IV. Memoranda covering the other portions of the meeting are ibid. The conversation was held in the Madison Room at the State Department.↩