Office of the Historian

210. Memorandum of Conversation1

Washington, April 20, 1967, 7 p.m.

SUBJECT

  • Trilateral Talks
1.
Gen Boie, FRG Embassy, met with Lt Gen Spivy, Director, Joint Staff at 1900 hours on 20 April 1967. Gen Boie delivered the substance of a message received from the FRG Government pertaining to the proposed redeployment of US forces from Germany.
2.
The proposal of the German Government relating to US forces redeployments is attached at Tab A.2
3.
Gen Boie stated that if possible the German Government would like to obtain agreement on their proposals prior to the Trilateral Talks; if not, they would be discussed in the Trilateral Talks. If still necessary, they intend to make such proposals to the DPC.
4.
Gen Boie also indicated that the German Government would like to discuss at the Trilateral Talks whether and in what way the US and the UK redeployments from the FRG might be used as an initiative to obtain mutual withdrawal from the “other Germany” of Soviet troops. In this connection, they ask that “experts” meet in London on 27 April to discuss the mutual reduction problem. (The German Government has requested that the Principals’ meeting be held in London on 28–29 April.)3
5.
Gen Boie stated that the German Government requested that a joint report by the three governments not be prepared this time but rather that each Principal prepare a separate report to his government to be passed to the DPC. It is further requested that any troop redeployment proposals be made by the individual governments to the DPC. Finally, Gen Boie stated that the German Government requested that the results of the Trilateral Talks not be presented to the WEU before being presented to the DPC.
6.
Gen Boie stated that these same FRG proposals would be presented to the Department of State on the morning of 21 April 1967.
7.
He further requested that I come to Bonn early next week to meet with the FRG Joint Staff. Tuesday, 25 April 1967 would be appropriate, since Gen Buchs and staff would be available then and since this would give the FRG needed time before the Trilateral Talks on the 28th of April 1967.
B. E. Spivy
Lt General, USA Director, Joint Staff
  1. Source: Johnson Library, Bator Papers, Trilateral Talks. Secret.↩
  2. Not printed.↩
  3. For a summary of these talks, see Foreign Relations, 1964–1968, vol. XIII, Document 249.↩