Office of the Historian

198. Telegram From the Embassy in France to the Department of State1

Paris, November 5, 1968, 1925Z.

23468/Delto 937.

1.

DRV delegation delivered following note verbale to USDel for Ambassador Vance at 1900 Paris time November 5:

“At this morning (November 5, 1968) private meeting, there are two points on which we have not yet reached agreement:

1)
The conference room.
2)
The press representatives.

Now, we would like to inform you that we temporarily agree to your proposal:

1)
The first meeting of four delegations will be held in the room which we have so far used as our meeting place.
2)
The press representatives will not be admitted in the first meeting of four delegations.

Thus, there is no disagreed question left with regard to the procedure and arrangement for the first meeting.

Therefore, with the consent of the representatives of the South Viet Nam National Front for Liberation, we propose to hold the first meeting of four delegations tomorrow November 6, 1968, at 10:30 hrs, at the Centre des Conferences Internationales, Paris.

[Page 571]

In case the representatives of the RVN are not available, we propose to hold meetings of three delegations: DRVN, FNL, and USA. When the representatives of the RVN come, they will participate in the meeting.”

2.

We have replied as follows:

“In reply to your note verbale, we wish to inform you as follows:

1.
The United States representatives do not believe that we have yet reached agreement on all questions of procedures and arrangements for the first meeting in a wider format. For example, even if the meeting is held in the small conference room as we proposed, agreement has not been reached on all the physical arrangements involved.
2.
Moreover, as Ambassador Vance said earlier today, the representatives of the Republic of Viet-Nam will not be present and we cannot have a meeting in the wider format on November 6. We said we would inform Ambassador Lau as soon as our side would be prepared to meet with your side in the wider meeting.”

Harriman
  1. Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, A/IM Files: Lot 93 D 82, HARVAN-(Incoming)-November 1968. Secret; Immediate; Nodis/HARVAN Double Plus. Received at 2:59 p.m. Repeated to Saigon.↩