Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Volume XV, Germany and Berlin

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

Paris, April 29, 1965, 1800Z.²

6136. When Lucet briefed DCM on Gromyko communiqué,³ he made declaration of profound unhappiness over Washington Ambassadorial Group problem on declaration. He said French felt they had met our point after misunderstanding when French thought matter had been settled proved erroneous. French now felt, he continued, that we were trying to impose something. He stressed French were acting in good faith and not trying undermine Four-Power responsibility for Germany. He referred again to French action in adding reference to Geneva declaration of 1955⁴ on this point. He expressed question as to whether US was trying to maneuver so that it could pin responsibility for absence of agreed declaration on French especially as time growing so short.

British sources here indicate they have information to effect Foreign Office is in bind because present French language drafted by de Gaulle who instructed Quai to insist on its inclusion.

Regular Franco-German monthly meeting at Lucet-Meyer-Lindberg level will take place May 3 and French plan raise matter urgently with Germans then if it is not settled in interim.

Bohlen

1. Source: Department of State, Central Files,POL 32–4 GER. Secret. Repeated to Bonn, London, and Moscow. A notation on the source text reads: “Handled Limdis per S/S-O.”
2. The Z refers to Greenwich Mean Time.
3. For text, see American Foreign Policy: Current Documents, 1965, pp. 522–523.
4. For text of the Four-Power declaration on Germany, November 16, 1955, see American Foreign Policy, 1950–1955: Basic Documents, vol. I, pp. 1926–1927.