Foreign Relations of the United States, 1958–1960, Berlin Crisis, 1958–1959, Volume VIII

15. Telegram From the Embassy in Germany to the Mission at Berlin⁰

Bonn, July 31, 1958, 1 p.m.

65. Reference: USAREUR’s SX 5761.¹ On basis reftel, have obtained British and French agreement to following revised message to Markushin which will be telephoned to him by British Political Adviser today:

• Begin text—With reference to your telephone message of July 29, I am instructed to inform you on behalf of my French and American colleagues as well as myself that we will not agree to Soviet inspection, even in occasional cases, of any vehicles in a military convoy or of individual military vehicles.
• However, we will accept the sample form for documentation as submitted by General Zaharov. It will be necessary to work out certain details such as agreed translations, etc., and therefore the date of August 1, proposed for the introduction of the new documentation, is clearly impracticable. We will send you sample copies of the new forms as soon as they can be duplicated and notify you of the date on which they can be introduced. Meanwhile we expect that military convoys and individual trucks will continue to be cleared through the Soviet checkpoints in accordance with existing procedures.—End text.²

It was further agreed here that best place for working out tripartitely agreed translations and other details regarding new movement orders would be Berlin.

Bruce

0. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 762.0221/7–3158. Confidential; Niact. Repeated to Heidelberg and the Department as telegram 296, which is the source text.
1. On July 29 Markushin had telephoned the U.S. Mission to say that effective August 1 Soviet officials would inspect the vehicles of convoys going to Berlin. In SX 5761, July 31, Hodes stated: “The Soviets should be told in the strongest possible language that any form of inspection of our convoys or vehicles is completely unacceptable.” (A copy of this message was transmitted in telegram 297 from Bonn, July 31; ibid.)
2. The Western Political Advisers had met on July 29 to work out a draft reply to Markushin, but their draft was rejected by Bruce who strengthened the language concerning Soviet inspection and put it at the beginning of the message. (Telegrams 98 from Berlin, July 29, and 296 from Bonn, July 31; ibid., 762.0221/7–2958 and 7–3158)