107. Transcript of Telephone Conversation Among Secretary of State Kissinger, the Deputy Secretary of State (Ingersoll), and the Assistant Secretary for International Organization Affairs (Buffum)1

K: Hello.

I: Henry. I’d like to have Bill Buffum outline to you what we have on the U.N. right now.

K: OK.

B: It has been proceeding at a very leisurely pace indeed Mr. Secretary. The Council has still not met at this 2:30 p.m.

K: It has not met.

B: It has not met. They have been negotiating in the corridors all morning long on our resolution. The Russians have been dragging their feet throughout the day trying to get everything they can from yesterday’s text added to our text. And of course we’ve been stonewalling them.

K: Yes. Are the British and French with us?

B: They are generally although the French have been willing to accept the paragraph which would call for the withdrawal of all foreign military forces in excess of those envisaged in international agreement on the grounds that this now includes all excess Turks as well as Greeks. In other words those who landed yesterday.

K: Well that might not be a bad—except the Turks won’t like that.

B: No. Neither the Turks nor Greeks will like that. I said provisionally I did not think that accorded with your understanding with the French Foreign Minister and they are seeking further guidance from you.

K: Well I don’t think the French Foreign Minister ever expressed himself to me on that.

B: That is not covered of course in the agreement of the points to be put to the 9.

K: That is correct.

B: So I thought that went beyond what you had agreed. And what we are trying to do at the moment is get the Council President to announce as a simple consensus of opinion a common desire that there [Page 351] should be a cease fire and negotiations among the parties. It is possible but not certain that the Peruvian President will do this. If he does not then our best choice I believe is to accept this modified draft as the French have worked it out.

K: I agree. That is such a shocking sentence for me to say to my friends.

B: Well, we’ve held the hard line until we heard from you.

K: No, I agree. If we have to do it that way but make sure we’ve got the British and French with us when it happens.

B: Oh, they will definitely be with us. They are dragging us at this point.

K: OK. Well, that’s not a bad position to be in.

B: Alright. Henry, Larry2 just said you want a WSAG at 9:00 in the morning. We have our group here when you get in at 9:00 tonight.

K: Is that when I’m getting in?

B: That’s what he said.

K: Well, I’m leaving here at 2:00. Let’s just meet at the Department a half an hour after I arrive whenever that is.

B: You probably won’t be here before 10 or 10:30.

K: That’s what I would guess but can we work that out—I haven’t worked it out.

B: I’ll work it out with Larry.

K: OK now. Have we any idea what Sisco said to these guys.3

I: I’ve not seen a wire in yet and he wouldn’t tell me over the phone.

K: Well, I’ve never been wrong about Sisco yet and if he didn’t tell you he didn’t carry out his instructions.

B: He said he was sending a report very shortly thereafter but we haven’t received yet.

K: But the point is it would have been easy enough for him to say that he carried out the instructions.

I: I gathered that impression but he didn’t say so in any exact words.

K: What, that he carried out the instructions? We’ll give him a decoration.

I: We haven’t received his cable. How was the press briefing?4

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K: I kept it very, very low key and my major concern was to give the impression that we knew what we were doing. The questions were very friendly. You know they are lethargic out here.

B: The questions are friendlier in California than they are in Washington.

K: Yes and the group out here hasn’t been on top of all this excitment. You get the text. I did tell them that that airborne battalion in Europe has been alerted because I didn’t want them to find it out afterwards. But I made it very clear we are in no posture of confrontation with the Soviet Union. We are working cooperatively with them and so forth.

I: What one is this?

K: Well, that G.D. General Goodpath that just went ahead and alerted for 509th Air Force without telling anybody. And I didn’t want it to come out of Europe because if I did not say it and it hit suddenly it would sound as if something new had happened. So I listed it. I said it is a normal precaution, there is no alert, there is no confrontation and so forth.

I: Alright. We’ll make it all available back here.

K: They can use my name but not quotation.

B: Henry. I was not able to reach Fulbright but I talked to Mrs. Fulbright and I gave her pretty much the story and she’s going to get to him sometime this afternoon.

K: OK. Did you call Mansfield.

I: I spoke to Mansfield. He was very pleased that we gave him a briefing. He didn’t disagree with anything we’re seeking to do. In fact he said it seemed to be the right thing to do.

B: I got the same reaction from John Rhodes. I got him over.

K: Somebody should call Albert.

I: I’ve tried and we can’t get him. I am trying to reach Morgan in Pennsylvania.

K: Good. Many thanks. I’ll see you all tonight. I’ll give you a call just before I leave.

  1. Source: Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Kissinger Papers, Box 384, Telephone Conversations, Chronological File. No classification marking. Kissinger was in San Clemente; Ingersoll and Buffum were in Washington.
  2. Reference is to Lawrence Eagleburger, Executive Assistant to the Secretary.
  3. See Document 104.
  4. Kissinger held a background press briefing from 10:21 to 11:02 a.m. outlining the developments in the current crisis. (Text of Background Briefing; Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Kissinger Papers, Box 122, Geopolitical File, Cyprus)