355. Editorial Note
Prime Minister Macmillan, accompanied by Foreign Minister Lloyd, visited the Soviet Union February 21–March 3 at the invitation of the Soviet Government. The Prime Minister and President Eisenhower exchanged a series of letters before, during, and after this visit in which the two discussed the possibility of an agreement with the Russians to limit nuclear testing, the Berlin question, and Macmillan’s impressions of the Soviet leaders. These letters are in the Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, International File, and the Herter Papers. For the Prime Minister’s account of his visit to the Soviet Union, see Riding the Storm, pages 591–634.
Following this trip, Macmillan and Lloyd visited Paris March 9–10; Bonn March 12–13; Ottawa March 18; and Washington March 19–23 to report on their discussions with Soviet leaders.
[Page 827]After arriving in Washington on March 19, Macmillan and Lloyd called on President Eisenhower at the White House the following morning; see Document 356. The three men then visited Secretary Dulles in Walter Reed Hospital where they discussed the possibility of a summit meeting and other topics; see Document 357. Eisenhower, Macmillan, and Lloyd helicoptered to Camp David, Maryland, to begin 4 days of discussion. After lunch, the Prime Minister reported on his visits to Moscow and Paris and considered with the President the formulation of a reply to the Soviet note of March 2; see Document 358. After dinner, Acting Secretary of State Herter and Foreign Minister Lloyd discussed Berlin.
On Saturday, March 21, the President and the Prime Minister resumed their consideration of the reply to the Soviet note and of the German reunification question. Other topics discussed included European security and Anglo-American tactics at a possible foreign ministers meeting. The following day, the two men discussed a variety of topics including: general economic matters, the global Communist threat, the Middle East, and nuclear tests. The British and U.S. parties returned to Washington that evening.
On Monday, March 23, Macmillan and Lloyd discussed various economic matters with Secretary of the Treasury Robert B. Anderson, Secretary of Commerce Lewis L. Strauss, and C. Douglas Dillon, Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs. That afternoon, the Prime Minister again called on the President at the White House, after which Macmillan and Lloyd were guests of Vice President Richard M. Nixon at his residence. No communiqué was issued upon Macmillan’s departure from Washington on March 23. Documentation on this visit is in Department of State, Central File 033.4111; ibid., Conference Files: Lot 64 D 560, CF 1214–1219, Macmillan Talks, March 19–23, 1959; ibid., President’s Memoranda of Conversation: Lot 66 D 149; and the Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, International File, and the Herter Papers. For Macmillan’s account of his trip to Washington, see Riding the Storm, pages 642–650.