711.11 EI/3–1153

No. 393
President Eisenhower to Prime Minister Churchill 1

top secret

The subject raised in your message of today2 has been engaging our attention here for some days. We are convinced that a move giving to the world some promise of hope, which will have the virtues of simplicity and persuasiveness, should be made quickly. A number of ideas have been advanced, but none of them has been completely acceptable.

At our meeting in New York3 I by no means meant to reject the possibility that the leaders of the West might sometime have to make some collective move if we are to achieve progress in lessening the world’s tensions.

However, even now I tend to doubt the wisdom of a formal multilateral meeting since this would give our opponent the same kind of opportunity he has so often had to use such a meeting simultaneously to balk every reasonable effort of ourselves and to make of the whole occurrence another propaganda mill for the Soviet. It is entirely possible, however, that your government and ourselves, and probably the French, should agreed upon some general purpose and program under which each would have a specific part to play.

I am sure that Foster Dulles will attempt to keep in rather close touch with Anthony regarding possibilities and any tentative conclusions we may reach.

Warm regards.

Ike
  1. This message was transmitted in telegram 6047 to London, Mar. 11, for immediate delivery to Prime Minister Churchill. Also included in the telegram was the text of Churchill’s message, supra.
  2. Supra.
  3. For a record of President Eisenhower’s conversations in New York with Prime Minister Churchill at the beginning of January, see Document 373.