Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Volume XII, Western Europe

7. Telegram From the Embassy in Denmark to the Department of State¹

Copenhagen, February 8, 1968, 1720Z.

3177. Subject: B-52 Crash: Conversation with Amb Ronne.

1. Amb Ronne, who came to small dinner informally at my home last evening, informed me he is working with Under Secretary Fischer preparing instructions to govern him when he returns to Washington. I gathered that the Danes are exploring possibilities and still hope to hit upon a formula for publicly prohibiting nuclear weapons in Greenland or overflights by planes carrying them that U.S. can accept. He emphasized that exchanges of notes or statement by U.S. which would satisfy Danish public opinion had somehow to be devised.

2. He said Danish Govt wanted to avoid renegotiation of Greenland defense treaty. To try to renegotiate it would open up far more serious problems than it would solve. Among other things he said sensitivity of Greenlanders must be borne in mind. Greenland had more autonomy now than when 1951 treaty was negotiated. In any renegotiation Greenlanders would interject themselves strongly and become complicating factor. Amb Ronne observed that in some ways the Greenland defense treaty smacked of Danish colonialism—a subject of great sensitivity to both Greenlanders and Danes.

3. Amb Ronne repeated what he has doubtlessly frequently said in Washington; namely, American policy of not confirming nor denying existence of nuclear weapons on Greenland or of overflights of planes carrying them is unduly rigid and the very arbitrariness of this position is a danger to existing status of American bases in Greenland.

4. Protect source.

White

1. Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, Central Files 1967-69, DEF 17 US. Confidential.