Foreign Relations of the United States, 1955–1957, Regulation of Armaments; Atomic Energy, Volume XX

100. Memorandum of a Conversation, White House, Washington, January 25, 1956¹

Washington, January 25, 1956

PARTICIPANTS

• The President
• Soviet Ambassador Zarubin
• Secretary of State Dulles
• Mr. Logofet (interpreter)²

After the Soviet Ambassador had made a statement from an aide-mémoire (attached), the President spoke as follows:

1. His remarks were necessarily of a very preliminary character.

2. He was absolutely and most completely sincere in his conviction of the need for better relations between our countries.

3. He had been concerned with the deterioration in those relations since the meeting of last July.

4. He shared the view that the peoples of the Soviet Union and the United States wanted peace.

5. He would give serious study to the proposal now made by Chairman Bulganin and in due course make a written reply.³

The President then asked whether it was the view of the Soviet Government that the proposal should be kept confidential, at least for the time being. The President expressed the view that the matter could be developed more productively if it were treated as confidential, but that we would of course acquiesce in whatever the views of the Soviet Government were in this respect.

The Soviet Ambassador stated that he had no instructions from his Government on this point, but would immediately communicate with his Government, and in the meantime would not disclose the nature of the communication. He expressed his personal agreement with the point of view on this matter expressed by President Eisenhower.

I then indicated that perhaps the Soviet Ambassador had better follow the usual practice, which is that after talking with the President, visitors make no statement of their own, but leave it to the White House to make such statement as it deemed appropriate. The Ambassador said he would follow this practice.

Thereupon the President and I sought to formulate the statement which the White House would issue and it was agreed that Mr. Hagerty would put out a statement which would say in substance that there had been a friendly communication from Chairman Bulganin to the President which was another one of the communications which they had exchanged since becoming acquainted at the Summit Conference.

The Soviet Ambassador expressed his accord with a statement of this general character. Thereupon the Soviet Ambassador and the interpreter retired.

The President and I then discussed the situation briefly. I said that I felt it probable that this was essentially a propaganda move, but that, of course, we should not jump to that conclusion. I said I saw significance in the fact that this proposal was made as a bilateral proposal to the United States, apparently without corresponding the proposal to the UK and France, although this might come later.

[Here follows discussion of intelligence gathering.]

JFD

[Attachment]

TRANSLATION OF AIDE-MÉMOIRE DELIVERED TO PRESIDENT EISENHOWER BY THE SOVIET AMBASSADOR, JANUARY 25, 1956

Mr. Bulganin, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union, in his message expresses concern over the relations between the Soviet Union and the United States and expresses his ideas concerning possible ways of improving those relations.

Bulganin considers that the improvement of Soviet-American relations would be an important contribution to the cause of creating a healthier atmosphere in the entire international situation and to the cause of maintaining and consolidating world peace.

Bulganin’s reasoning proceeds from the consideration that there does not exist and never has existed any irreconcilable difference between the peoples of our countries and that there are no boundaries or territories which might become an object of dispute or conflict.

Bulganin assures you, Mr. President, that the Soviet people welcomed with a feeling of complete understanding your statement at the Conference of the Heads of Government of the Four Powers at Geneva, in which you said: “The American people would like to be friends of the Soviet people. There are no disputes between the American and the Soviet peoples; there are no conflicts between them; there is no commercial enmity. Historically our peoples have always lived in peace.”

The military cooperation of our two countries during the years of the Second World War played a most important part in smashing the common foe.

It is highly regrettable that after the war the relations of friendship and cooperation between the USSR and the USA should have become impaired. The worsening of the relations between the USSR and the USA, whatever may be the reasons, is contrary to the interests of both the Soviet and the American peoples; it adversely affects the entire international situation, and a continuation of the existing status of Soviet-American relations cannot promote the settlement of unresolved international problems.

Bulganin considers that the improvement of Soviet-American relations is an urgent and necessary matter.

In the opinion of Bulganin, this objective may be helped by the conclusion of a treaty of friendship and cooperation between our countries.

Bulganin has attached to his letter a draft of the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between the USSR and the USA.⁴

This proposal aims at the improvement of Soviet-American relations in the interest of strengthening peace and further lessening international tension.

Bulganin expresses his hope that the proposal of the Soviet Government will meet with a favorable attitude on your part, Mr. President, and will find an affirmative echo on the part of the Soviet and American peoples.

1. Source: Eisenhower Library, Dulles Papers, Disarmament. Secret; Personal and Private. Drafted by Dulles.
2. Alexander Logofet, Department of State interpreter.
3. For text of Bulganin’s letter to Eisenhower, January 23, which Zarubin summarized in the attached aide-mémoire, and Eisenhower’s reply to Bulganin, January 28, see Department of State Bulletin, February 6, 1956, pp. 191–195.
4. For the Soviet draft treaty of friendship, see ibid., p. 195.