58. Letter From President Ford to West German Chancellor Schmidt1
I agree with the conviction expressed in your April 21 letter2 that the meetings of experts of industralized countries have been extremely useful and that it is now time to begin arrangements for discussions with representatives from the major producer countries. We would, of course, want to make clear from the beginning that this producer-consumer meeting of experts was completely private and that governments would not necessarily be bound by its results.
Your talk with Minister Ansari should help clarify the subjects which could be fruitfully discussed at such a gathering and elicit Iran’s suggestions concerning countries that might be represented. Perhaps after you see the Minister, we should have further contact to coordinate final preparations for the meeting, including the definitive list of participants. George Shultz would continue to represent the United States.
For our part, we are convinced, especially in the wake of the abortive preparatory meeting in Paris, that the industralized countries must continue to strengthen their cooperative efforts on conservation, financial solidarity and substitution of domestic for imported energy. In my view, it is only through such unity of purpose and action by the major consumers that any discussions, private or governmental, with the producers can be productive.
Sincerely,
- Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, Presidential Correspondence with Foreign Leaders, Box 2, Germany (FRG)—Chancellor Schmidt (1). No classification marking. At the bottom of the page is a handwritten note: “Original letter sent to Sonnenfeldt to deliver to German Embassy, 4/29/75.”↩
- Schmidt’s letter is ibid., NSC Europe, Canada, and Ocean Affairs Staff: Convenience Files, Box 69, May–June 1975, European Trip, NATO Summit (1).↩