Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961–1963, Volumes VII, VIII, IX, Arms Control; National Security Policy; Foreign Economic Policy, Microfiche Supplement

132. Telegram 378 to London, July 17¹

July 17, 1962, 10:20 p.m.

Please pass soonest following message from Secretary to Lord Home in reply to latter’s note of July 15 rptd septel:

QTE I am happy to have your report about agreement among the scientists on the new findings produced by the VELA project research efforts. We also are hopeful this can lead to important developments in the nuclear test ban negotiations.

We are still in the process of working out basic positions and language for a possible new draft treaty. While we are proceeding as rapidly as we can with our consultations within the US Government, I am very doubtful that we would have a draft treaty available for submission to the Conference during the time that you and I will be in Geneva.

The operating plan we discussed with your Delegation representatives who came to Washington earlier this month was designed to give us time to assess the new data more carefully, to consult with Congress and to make sure that the language we would put in a draft comprehensive treaty would in fact provide adequate assurance of a control system which would protect our interests. Ambassador Dean has now informed the Conference that we will present this data and he indicated fairly clearly that we will not have a new proposal ready before the technical data has been laid before the Conference and its significance explored.

I agree with your identification of the prime political questions to be faced and look forward to discussing them with you when we meet in Geneva. Our present thinking is that the number of on-site inspections and the number of detection stations depend to an important degree on technical judgments not yet formulated within our Government.

I hope you will understand our position here. We are doing our best to produce a treaty based on the latest technical evidence. We have not, yet, however, taken the basic political decision that modifications should be made in our previous position as represented in the April 18, 1961 treaty draft. Until we have arrived at a judgment on this question, all our discussions must be, for our part, tentative and exploratory. UNQTE.

Rusk

1. Text of Rusk letter to Home on Geneva issues. Top Secret. 2 pp. Department of State, Presidential Correspondence: Lot 66 D 204, Secretary Rusk’s Conversations with U.K. Officials, 1961–1962, Vol. 1.