Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Volume XIV, Soviet Union

249. Memorandum of Conversation¹

Washington, October 2, 1967.

SUBJECT

• Chancery Site

PARTICIPANTS

• Ambassador Anatoliy F. Dobrynin, Soviet Embassy
• Mr. Foy D. Kohler, Deputy Under Secretary

Mr. Kohler said that he thought we were all set on Mt. Alto as the location to be offered to the Soviet Embassy as part of the projected exchange of chancery sites. We would now need from the Soviet side a statement, either oral or written, that this was agreeable to them. He asked whether Ambassador Dobrynin was familiar with the September 28 Cleveland Park Citizens Association resolution on Tregaron. Ambassador Dobrynin said he was not fully informed, but he had seen an article in the Washington Star which had stated that Tregaron was again in the picture. The article had also mentioned that Mr. Rooney was opposed to it but that the Cleveland Park Citizens Association had voted in favor.²

Mr. Kohler said that, for the Ambassador’s private information, it was true that Mr. Rooney lives in the area and is opposed to having any embassies in that neighborhood. He then described the two main points of the recently passed Cleveland Park Citizens Association resolution: (1) that the U.S. Government could acquire the entire property, but (2) that the Government would be expected to make half of the property along the north side into a park. Mr. Kohler said in our view the Tregaron proposal complicates the whole chancery site picture, and we might be faced with long additional delays if we proceeded along those lines. He said we would like to have from the Ambassador a statement that the Soviet side was satisfied with Mt. Alto and indeed preferred it, since only half of the Tregaron property would be available under the Citizens Association resolution.

Ambassador Dobrynin said that, in view of what Mr. Kohler had said, he was prepared to give his immediate agreement to Mt. Alto. He said he was most anxious to have the matter of chancery sites settled. He asked what other steps would now be necessary. Mr. Kohler said he thought we could proceed quite rapidly now. We would make arrangements to have the General Services Administration transfer the Mt. Alto property to the Department for the purpose of making available a chancery site for the Soviet Embassy, in exchange for comparable property to be made available to us in Moscow. Following that we would be prepared to have an exchange of notes for a formal agreement.

Ambassador Dobrynin asked whether there was any precedent for this kind of exchange. Mr. Kohler said there was not, and therefore we could proceed in the way that seemed best. For example, we might agree to leases of 99 years or an indefinite period. The important thing was for both sides to be satisfied. Ambassador Dobrynin asked, in looking ahead to the building stage, whether the Soviets would deal with the State Department regarding the buildings’ appearance, specifications, etc., or with some other government agency. Mr. Kohler said he thought they would deal with the city on that matter. He assumed the Soviets would perhaps wish to hire a contractor here, as well as bringing in their own people. Approval of the city authorities would be needed for various things, but he anticipated no problems.

In concluding their discussion of Mt. Alto Ambassador Dobrynin and Mr. Kohler reaffirmed that agreement had been reached in principle on the question of exchange sites.

The Ambassador said that, if queried by the press or others, the Embassy would state that it had opted for the Mt. Alto site.

1. Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, Central Files 1967–69, POL 17 USSR-US. Confidential. Drafted by Malone and approved in G on October 4.
2. The article, “Tregaron a Dark Horse for Russian Embassy,” appeared in the October 1 issue, p. B–2; Congressman John J. Rooney (D-New York) opposed the site.