208. Memorandum From the Acting Director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (Fisher) to Secretary of State Rusk1
SUBJECT
- Talking Points for your lunch with the President today.
- Draft Non-Proliferation Treaty, Article III Proposal.
The Soviets have proposed a compromise Article III dealing with safeguards which represents movement from their earlier position.2 The key to their suggested language is their willingness to have non-nuclear weapon states enter into safeguards agreements with the IAEA “either individually or together with other states as provided in the statute of the IAEA” and the statement that the “exclusive purpose” for which IAEA safeguards are to be accepted is “verification of the fulfillment of the obligations assumed under this treaty.”
These two factors appear to indicate that the Soviets are prepared to permit arrangements under which IAEA could make use of the Euratom system in performing the task of “verification” under such an Article. The Soviets also appear willing to have an Article III which permits the Euratom countries to negotiate with IAEA through Euratom.
The new Soviet article also contains a two-year implementation period after the treaty’s entry into force within which agreements with IAEA could be negotiated.
We have told the Soviets that, while we are anxious to resolve the Article III problem before the non-proliferation treaty is discussed in the [Page 509] U.N. General Assembly we would now have to obtain the views of our allies on the Soviet compromise proposal. We now propose to discuss the matter at the meeting of the North Atlantic Council to be held tomorrow, September 6.
- Source: Washington National Records Center, RG 383, ACDA/D Files: FRC 77 A 52, Memoranda to the Secretary of State, 1967. Secret.↩
- For text of the Soviet proposal submitted by Roshchin at the Co-Chairmen’s meeting held on September 1 in Geneva, see Document 206. For Foster’s summary of this meeting, see Document 205.↩