Foreign Relations of the United States, 1958–1960, Berlin Crisis, 1959–1960; Germany; Austria, Volume IX

127. Memorandum of Conversation⁰

Washington, April 15, 1960

SUBJECT

• Summit Procedures

PARTICIPANTS

• The Secretary of State
• M. Couve de Murville, French Foreign Minister
• M. Alphand, French Ambassador
• Mr. Foy Kohler, Assistant Secretary

At the close of his conversation with the Secretary today the French Foreign Minister brought up the subject which had been previously discussed on a tripartite basis with respect to the kind of meetings which might take place at the Summit and the President’s intentions as regards his projected letter to Soviet Chairman Khrushchev on this subject.

The Secretary replied that he had talked with the President about this matter.¹ The President had indicated that he would do nothing about any communication with Chairman Khrushchev on Summit procedures until after he had talked with President De Gaulle. After that the President would probably want President De Gaulle to handle any procedural communications with Khrushchev. M. Couve de Murville, after indicating his satisfaction at the Secretary’s statement, commented that it was clear that President De Gaulle wanted to have most of the meetings strictly limited to the four Heads of Government and interpreters. He realized that Selwyn Lloyd did not want this. However he thought that the meetings would probably start off this way and then if changes were indicated they could be made at any time.

The Secretary indicated his agreement. He then went on to say that while the President would not write Mr. Khrushchev on procedures he might send him a letter regarding his plans to visit Lisbon on May 23, saying that if the conference is still continuing he would ask the Vice President to replace him in Paris during the final phases.² This the Secretary pointed out related only to the President’s own plans.

The Foreign Minister agreed to this but said he hoped we would not announce the Lisbon visit in such a way as to suggest that we were setting a terminal date to the conference. He went on to ask whether he and the Secretary would be expected to accompany the Chiefs of State to Gettysburg during President De Gaulle’s forthcoming visit. The Secretary replied that we probably would not know the answer until the last minute though probably the Foreign Ministers would not go up to Gettysburg since the President liked to take his guests up there on a personal basis.

0. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 396.1–PA/4–1560. Secret. Drafted and initialed by Kohler and approved in S on April 20. A memorandum of the conversation on atomic cooperation is printed in vol. VII, Part 2, Document 164.
1. Herter sent the President a memorandum on April 14 suggesting that De Gaulle write the letter to Khrushchev. At the bottom of the memorandum the President wrote that he agreed with the suggestion. (Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, Dulles–Herter Series) No record of a telephone conversation with the President, who was in Augusta, Georgia, has been found.
2. The letter was transmitted to Moscow in telegram 2102, April 16, for delivery to Khrushchev. (Department of State, Presidential Correspondence: Lot 66 D 204)