Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976, Volume XL, Germany and Berlin, 1969–1972

83. Memorandum From Helmut Sonnenfeldt of the National Security Council Staff to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger)¹

Washington, May 14, 1970.

SUBJECT

• Western Four Discuss Eastern Policy and Berlin

The recent discussions in Bonn at the Assistant Secretary level brought a bit more clarity to some of the issues and also revealed more sharply some of the divergent views.²

On the German side, Bahr and Duckwitz apparently have opposite positions on the question of the linkage between the FRG negotiations with Moscow, Warsaw and the GDR, and the Berlin Four Power talks. Bahr sees a very clear tie, as he indicated here during the Brandt visit, and feels the FRG should not finally conclude any of its bilateral deals until FRG requirements with respect to Berlin have been met by the Soviets in the Four Power forum. Duckwitz, on the other hand, acknowledges the relationship (even a unity) among the various negotiations, but is convinced that it would be neither wise nor possible to hold up an agreement with the Poles, for example, until an understanding was achieved on Berlin.

The divergence of views between the French and the US, UK and FRG on Berlin was also made more open and clear. Bahr reviewed the minimum FRG requirements from the Soviets: acceptance of the existing social, cultural, economic and financial ties between Bonn and West Berlin. If the Soviets respected these ties, and there were improvement in access, then the FRG would be willing to reduce its political presence in Berlin, at least to the limited extent of Bahr’s formulation (not yet approved by the Cabinet) that FRG constitutional organs would not act in Berlin. The French judgment of priorities is almost the exact opposite: the political leverage generated by the linkage of the FRG’s bilateral negotiations with the Four Power talks should be used to strengthen the quadripartite status and the position of the Western allies in Berlin. The French say they would agree on the desirability of securing Soviet respect for the Bonn-Berlin ties, but insist that any Allied approach on this must be indirect and pragmatic.

The same French interest in not “diluting” the Four Power talks (as well as rights and responsibilities) by intermingling intra-German matters has produced the continuing split of opinion over the issue of the link between the Four Power discussion of Berlin access and FRG–GDR talks on transportation. The French simply refused to accept any formula for use at the May 14 Four Power talks or the May 21 Brandt–Stoph meeting in Kassel which would explicitly advance this link. Paris does not object to the FRG and GDR negotiating on access, but it must be done confidentially so as not to appear to undermine Four Power responsibility for Berlin access.

Another meeting of the Western Four at the Assistant Secretary level has been scheduled for Rome on May 25. These talks can serve the useful purpose of reducing some of the suspicions and potential for mistrust and further division, but the first meeting in Bonn has also pointed up the difficulties in attempting to secure a common position on the range of negotiations under way.

1. Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 683, Country Files, Europe, Germany, Vol. V. Secret. Sent for information. According to another copy, Downey drafted the memorandum. (Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Kissinger Papers, Box CL 5, Chronological File, 1969–75, 1 Apr. 31–May 1970) On June 2 Kissinger wrote the following instruction for Sonnenfeldt on the memorandum: “Hal—Could you do a brief summary where all the FRG neg[otiation]s now stand. HK.” A handwritten note indicates that this instruction was overtaken by events. (National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 683, Country Files, Europe, Germany, Vol. V) Sonnenfeldt, however, did draft a status report summarizing the negotiations (see Document 88).
2. The senior level meeting was held in Bonn on May 8 and 9. The Embassy forwarded a summary of the discussion in telegram 5330 from Bonn, May 12 (National Archives, RG 59, Central Files 1970–73, POL 38–6), and a detailed record in airgrams A–591 and A–606 from Bonn, May 13 and May 15, respectively (both ibid., POL 28 GER B). For German records of the meeting, see Akten zur Auswärtigen Politik der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, 1970, Vol. 2, pp. 722–734.