Office of the Historian

135. Memorandum of Conversation0

Washington, January 19, 1960, 10–11:40 p.m.

SUBJECT

  • Summit Prospects and East-West Relations

PARTICIPANTS

Prime Minister Kishi said that the Japanese fully appreciated the President’s effort to create an atmosphere conducive to the relaxation of world tensions. He expressed an interest in hearing the President’s estimate of the prospects for the forthcoming Summit meeting. He pointed out that other problems in Asia, for example Communist China, would remain even if the European problems are settled. The President reviewed the main issues to be discussed at the Summit meeting. He said that the Soviet Union is still stubborn on German reunification. He said that Berlin is a very delicate issue since it is a show window of freedom deep inside East Germany. Khrushchev faces two alternatives in dealing with the Berlin question, eliminating West Berlin or making East Germany and East Berlin equally prosperous which is impractical. The President concluded that Berlin, therefore, is the greatest possible danger spot.

The President then explained that all efforts to reach agreement on a nuclear test ban had been thwarted by the Soviet Union which is determined to prevent effective inspection of its country. He reviewed for the Prime Minister the various western proposals for a nuclear test agreement which have not been accepted by the Soviet Union. The President also expressed doubts on the possibility for concluding an over-all disarmament agreement with the Soviet Union although he believes that the Soviet Union, due to the high cost of armaments, does want an agreement if it can be reached without harming its own interests.

The President mentioned several areas where there had been improvement in relations with the Soviet Union, the exchange of visits between American and Soviet groups and abandonment of jamming of the Voice of America. He recounted for the Prime Minister various instances demonstrating that the Soviet leaders, however, do not understand freedom as it is known in the west. The President concluded that Khrushchev’s recent deportment provides grounds for being a little bit [Page 263] more hopeful but the President was cautious regarding the prospect for any real progress at the first Summit meeting, although he felt that this meeting in itself should improve the atmosphere. In this connection, the President noted that Khrushchev must consider his own allies such as Communist China and indicated that Khrushchev might fear a strong Red China would challenge the U.S.S.R.

  1. Source: Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, DDE Diaries. Secret; Limit Distribution. Drafted by Parsons. See also Documents 132–134 and 136–138.↩