Office of the Historian

18. Memorandum of Conversation1 2

Washington, April 9, 1969, 10:30 a.m.

SUBJECT:

  • Secretary’s Bilateral with Brandt Part II of V - Non-Proliferation Treaty

PARTICIPANTS:

  • FRG
    • Willy Brandt, Foreign Minister
    • Rolf Pauls, FRG Ambassador
    • Hans Ruete, Assistant Secretary, FRG Foreign Office
  • U.S.
    • The Secretary
    • Martin J. Hillenbrand, Assistant Secretary (EUR)
    • Alexander C. Johnpoll, Acting Country Director (EUR/GER)

The Secretary told Brandt that he had suggested to the Soviets that the US and Soviet Union ratify the NPT simultaneously. The Soviets’ first reaction had been negative; then they said they would think about it.

Mr. Hillenbrand said that we had just heard from Geneva that Roshchin said he had recommended [Page 2] to his government against tying Soviet ratification in with German adherence.

The Secretary said that the reason the Soviets had reacted negatively at first to our proposal for simultaneous ratification was that they wanted to see what the FRG was going to do about the treaty. We intend to keep trying to get the Soviets to move together with us on ratification; we would be in a difficult situation domestically if six months or a year after we had ratified there were still no action in Moscow.

The Secretary asked Brandt about the situation in the FRG on the treaty.

Brandt said there were some real problems. Germany is moving toward the election campaign. There is still some possibility that the FRG might sign the treaty in May or June. Brandt is scheduled to report to the Cabinet on the NPT on April 23. However, the Chancellor still has very difficult problems in his own Party.

The Soviets have responded to FRG concerns over alleged rights of intervention with a bit of movement; but the Soviets could and should have offered much more.

Brandt said that he hoped it would be possible to get something on the enemy states articles into the NATO Communique, but he knew that the French objected. However, he hoped that at a certain point in time when the FRG is ready to move on the treaty, we could issue another public statement on alleged Soviet rights of intervention along the lines of the one we had issued in September 1968.

The Secretary pointed out that the NATO East-West paper had some language on this problem, which the press would undoubtedly get on a background basis. He said that he would have another press conference before going to SEATO, and could [Page 3] issue at that time a public statement on the problem similar to the September statement if the FRG were ready for it.

  1. Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Files 1967–1969, DEF 18–6. Secret. Drafted by Johnpoll (EUR/GER) and approved on April 15 in S. The meeting took place in the Secretary’s office at the Department of State.↩
  2. Secretary of State Rogers and German Foreign Minister Brandt discussed the NPT, focusing primarily on the continuing FRG concerns and the Soviet response to simultaneous ratification.↩