257. Paper Prepared in the Department of State1
STATE DEPARTMENT ACTIVITIES REPORT
[Here follow reports on the US-Japan Automobile Talks, the Travel Control Bill, and Otto Otepka.]
4. Kohler-Dobrynin Meeting—Foy Kohler had a farewell luncheon2 today with Ambassador Dobrynin. Foy noted that the Russians owe us answers on a number of questions, particularly that of strategic arms limitations.3
Dobrynin agreed that despite Viet-Nam there are three areas in which we have to cooperate: (1) maintaining exchanges between the two peoples; (2) rationalizing the strategic weapons race and moving toward a reduction in conventional armaments; and (3) cooperating on the use of outer space.
Dobrynin said Moscow’s policy on Viet-Nam was completely “hands off”, but added that Moscow suspects we really do not want peace. Foy did his best to disabuse Dobrynin and stressed that it was Dobrynin’s responsibility to correct such misapprehensions in Moscow.
- Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, S/S Files: Lot 74 D 164. Secret. Forwarded to the White House for the President’s Evening Reading.↩
- On December 31 Kohler stepped down as Deputy Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs.↩
- Kohler and Dobrynin reviewed the following items on Kohler’s list of pending business: space cooperation, cooperation on desalting, technical talks on Plowshare and interpretation of the Limited Test Ban Treaty, the strategic weapons talks, incidents along the Korean DMZ, Moscow-New York flights, chancery sites, the exchanges agreement, and problems involving Sputnik magazine and the Americk-Soviet Life magazine exchange. (National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, Central Files 1967–69, POL US–USSR)↩
- Signed for Read in an unidentified hand.↩