196. Memorandum of Conversation1
SUBJECT
- Soviet Union and Germany
PARTICIPANTS
- The Secretary
- Deputy Under Secretary Foy D. Kohler
- Soviet Ambassador Anatoliy Dobrynin
During their meeting tonight, the Secretary asked Ambassador Dobrynin’s views as to the new German Government, with particular reference to the efforts of that Government to improve its relations with the countries of Eastern Europe. Ambassador Dobrynin said the problem involved was that of the German Democratic Republic. The GDR was a member of the Soviet Bloc and did not want to be the “poor boy.” If relations between Eastern Europe and West Germany were to be improved, the GDR insisted this process should not be discriminatory against it. The Soviet Union supports the position of the GDR. During this phase of the discussion, Ambassador Dobrynin referred in passing to the question of voting rights for Bundestag members from West Berlin, and there was some discussion as to whether relations between the FRG and the GDR might not be more susceptible to improvement after the disappearance of Ulbricht from the scene.
- Source: Department of State, S/S-I Files, Lot 79 D 246. Confidential; Limdis. Drafted by Kohler and approved in S on February 23. The source text bears Rusk’s notation: “OK DR.”↩