740.5/12–751: Telegram
The United States Deputy Representative on the North Atlantic Council (Spofford) to the Acting Secretary of State 1
Depto 692. Re Todep 395.2 Assume it wld be desirable to have Greek and Turkish Govts acquire early familiarity with NATO background, [Page 610] procedures, and activities. Presumably this cld best be done by inviting them to send observers to attend deputies mtgs. Only two problems are sensitivity of Parliaments and documentation. On former believe we shld privately sound out Danes and Dutch before taking action. Assume from reftel that US Senatorial sensitivity no longer involved since attendance at regular deputies mtgs and access to NATO documentation wld appear to approximate full membership more closely than attendance of observers at Rome. Assume we contemplate that after due security clearance their reps cld see NATO documentation but not be given it physically either for themselves or their govts pending full membership.
Leave to US del TCC comment on any form of association with that exercise.
Trust Athens, Ankara, and Washington will scrupulously keep possibility of association with deputies from knowledge of Greeks and Turks pending action by deputies. Will report further on Dutch, Danish and other reactions as soon as obtained.
- Repeated to Paris, Athens, and Ankara.↩
- In the course of explaining to Spofford why the Greeks and Turks could not be invited to participate in the final stages of the work of the TCC, telegram Todep 395 suggested that “it might be more useful and realistic to have NAC Deps invite Grk and Turk Govts to send a rep to London. The purpose would be to have these reps work with the Deps Internatl Staff to acquire NATO background and history and familiarize themselves with NATO procedures and activities.” (740.5/12–751)↩