Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Volume XVII, Eastern Europe

35. Memorandum of Conversation¹

Washington, April 1, 1968.

SUBJECT

• Visit of Bulgarian Ambassador Guerassimov

PARTICIPANTS

• Bulgarian Ambassador Luben Guerassimov
• Vesselin Vassilev, Attache, Bulgarian Embassy
• Assistant Secretary John M. Leddy
• Robert B. Houston, Jr., EUR/EE

Departure of Tarabanov

Ambassador Guerassimov first apologized for not having been able to keep the appointment he had requested with Mr. Leddy on March 27. He explained that UN Permanent Representative Tarabanov had been preparing to depart for Bulgaria on March 27 and that he had to confer with Tarabanov before the latter’s departure.

President Johnson’s Speech

Ambassador Guerassimov next asked if the statement of President Johnson that he would not be a candidate for re-election² meant any change in the foreign policy of the US Government.

Mr. Leddy said that no change in the basic foreign policy of the US should be expected. The President said that he wanted to devote himself to working on the problems facing the country without getting involved himself in the election campaign. In respect to Viet Nam the President was going to try what many people had urged—a halt to bombing—to see if the expectations would come true that peace talks would start promptly and that no military advantage would be taken. Mr. Leddy expressed the hope that persons on the side of Hanoi who had spoken optimistically of what would happen if bombing were halted would now exert their influence to make their predictions come true. Ambassador Guerassimov said that perhaps Hanoi would want to delay any action to see who the new President would be. Mr. Leddy said that Hanoi would make a mistake if it decided to await the inauguration of a new President before responding to the bombing halt.

US Attitude Towards Greece

Noting that Bulgarian relations with Turkey had significantly improved with the just concluded Zhivkov trip to Turkey, the Ambassador asked how the US viewed the present Greek government.

Mr. Leddy replied that if the Ambassador wished a detailed discussion on Greece, he should talk to Assistant Secretary Battle within whose area Greece fell. Mr. Leddy said that he was informed about Greece chiefly in the NATO context. As the Ambassador might guess, the US did not want to see Greece leave NATO. The US did want to see Greece return to constitutional government with traditional freedoms. The US did not feel there was anything to be gained by cutting relations with the present Greek government. Our policy was therefore to continue contacts, to exert such influence as we could and to hope that in time, constitutional government would be restored.

Ambassador Guerassimov said that the present regime in Greece was reminiscent of that which existed there prior to World War I and was hindering the development of a better atmosphere in the Balkans.

Bulgarian Interest in Technology

Ambassador Guerassimov said that he had asked for the appointment in order to leave with Mr. Leddy copies of several documents which had been presented previously to various persons in Washington.These documents showed ways in which Bulgaria thought US-Bulgarian relations could develop. The documents were:³

1. The Bulgarian draft of an exchange agreement between the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences.

2. A list of factories which Bulgaria was negotiating to purchase in the US.

3. A list of licenses on which Bulgaria wanted information with a view of possible purchase.

4. A list of technical fields in which Bulgaria desired scientific-technical cooperation with the US (i.e. fields in which Bulgaria wished to have specialists receive industrial training in the US).

5. A list of certain scientific fields in which Bulgaria would like to have specialists receive academic training in the US.

Mr. Leddy said that the documents would be studied and the Embassy advised of the Department’s comments on them.

Ambassador Guerassimov added that in addition to the persons who might come to the US under the projects mentioned in the lists, Bulgaria was in touch with the Department of Health, Education and Welfare about exchanges of medical personnel and Bulgarians were also making arrangements for technical training directly with various American universities.

Topics on Which US Seeks Bulgarian Action

Mr. Leddy told Ambassador Guerassimov that the US would like to hear from Bulgaria on several matters: the US-Bulgarian consular convention, the proposed agreement on reciprocal radio rights and the ending of Bulgarian jamming of Voice of America broadcasts. Ambassador Guerassimov said that the Embassy in Washington was not involved in the consular convention negotiations but that he would inform Sofia of Mr. Leddy’s interest. He also said that he thought the US Embassy in Sofia had received some information on the jamming question. Mr. Leddy said that no satisfactory information had been received on jamming. Ambassador Guerassimov then brought up the recent reply of the Foreign Ministry to the Department’s note of July 27, 1967 reducing the number of counties in the US closed to Bulgarian travel.⁴ Mr. Houston said that the US Embassy had just reported receipt of a communication on this subject from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but had not had time to analyze it.

Events in Czechoslovakia

Mr. Leddy asked Ambassador Guerassimov for his views on the recent events in Czechoslovakia. The Ambassador replied that his only information on the events came from reading the Bulgarian press. He said that there was nothing new insofar as the Czechoslovak Party was concerned, as there had always been criticism within the Party and the replacement of no longer useful Party officials. He said that in his view, what was going on in Czechoslovakia was the realization of reform in public life and government.

1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL BUL–US. Limited Official Use. Drafted by Houston.
2. For text, see Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Lyndon B. Johnson, 1968, Book I, pp. 469–476.
3. The documents were not found with the source text.
4. A copy of the note is in Department of State, Central Files, POL 17–2 BUL–US.