Office of the Historian

115. Memorandum of Conversation1

SecDel/MC/43
New York, September 25, 1961, 1 p.m.

SECRETARY’S DELEGATION TO THE SIXTEENTH SESSION
OF THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY

New York, September 19-24, 1961

PARTICIPANTS

  • US
    • President Kennedy
  • Colombia
    • Ambassador Turbay2

SUBJECT

  • Lleras Plan

Before the Secretary’s lunch today for the Latin Americans, there was a short exchange of views between President Kennedy and Ambassador Turbay (Colombia). The President was interested in the progress of the Lleras Plan. Ambassador Turbay said it consisted of three resolutions, designed to test Cuba’s willingness to conform to and remain within the Inter-American System. His exposition of this substance was as he gave it to Secretary Rusk on September 22.3 The texts had not yet come from Bogota.

Ambassador Turbay then said he hoped the President would speak of the Plan to President Frondizi, since Turbay had the impression the Argentine position was not as clear as it had seemed to be. President Kennedy asked whether in Ambassador Turbay’s opinion a conference of Foreign Ministers could or should be called. The reply was that unless Argentina, Brazil, and Ecuador were in line (it was useless to hope Mexico would be), the bulk of the OAS members would abstain. It was true that if fourteen members were in agreement on a subject, the rest had to go along, but in this case, without these key members’ approval, there would not be fourteen votes. President Kennedy inquired whether Argentina was the key to this problem. Turbay replied in the affirmative, [Page 259] saying good support by Argentina would surely bring Brazil and probably Ecuador along.4

President Kennedy expressed the U.S. appreciation for Colombia’s and Ambassador Turbay’s initiative in the Cuban matter.

  1. Source: Department of State, Conference Files: Lot 65 D 366, CF 1957. Confidential. No drafting information appears on the source text. Approved by the White House on October 3. The conversation took place before a luncheon at the Waldorf Astoria. The time and place are taken from Kennedy’s Appointment Book. (Kennedy Library)↩
  2. Former Foreign Minister Turbay.↩
  3. Turbay met with Rusk on September 21 and 22. Memoranda of the conversations are in Department of State, Conference Files: Lot 65 D 366, CF 1957.↩
  4. Kennedy raised the subject on September 26 with Frondizi, who was noncommittal but indicated that a meeting of consultation might be possible in early 1962. (Ibid., Central Files, 720.5-MSP/9-2761) A memorandum of the conversation is printed in Foreign Relations, 1961–1963, vol. X, Document 264.↩