Office of the Historian

187. Telegram From the Department of State to the Mission in Berlin1

Washington, December 3, 1966, 3:10 p.m.

96238. From the Under Secretary to Ambassador McGhee. Subject: Berlin Voting Rights. This will confirm our telephone conversation regarding Berlin voting rights.2 As I indicated to you, we would like the Germans to take the initiative, if there is to be any change in policy. We would like to have assurances from them that if they plan to make any change in policy they will consult us first. To accomplish this, you are authorized to make a low key approach to Carstens, or someone else of your choice, and convey to him our hope that the FRG would not change its position without prior consultation with the three. You may want to inform the British and French of this low key approach.3

As we discussed, any substantive discussion of this should be done tripartitely. As I said to you on the phone, the above reflects the Secretary’s views and I shall talk to the Secretary earliest at greater length about this issue. You will receive instructions on the substantive position soonest.4

Rusk
  1. Source: Department of State, Central Files,POL 14 GER B. Secret; Immediate; Exdis. Drafted by Puhan, cleared by Stoessel, and approved by Katzenbach. Repeated to Bonn.↩
  2. No record of the conversation has been found.↩
  3. In telegram 6740 from Bonn, December 6, McGhee reported he had carried out the démarche. (Johnson Library, National Security File, Country File, Germany, vol. 12)↩
  4. In telegram 97910, December 6. (Department of State, Central Files, POL 14 GER W)↩