Office of the Historian

113. Telegram 12344 From the Department of State to the Embassy in the Soviet Union1

Washington, January 18, 1975, 0012Z.

12344. Subject: Venting of Underground Explosions. Geneva for CCD.

1. Acting Assistant Secretary Stabler called in Soviet Minister Counselor Vorontsov on January 16 to give him the following note verbale.

Begin quote. The Secretary of State presents his compliments to His Excellency the Ambassador of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and has the honor to remind him of the continuing importance attached by the Government of the United States to the full compliance by the Government of the Soviet Union with the provisions of the Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapon Tests in the Atmosphere, in Outer Space, and Under Water, signed at Moscow on August 5, 1963.

In this connection, the Government of the United States wishes to call to the attention of the Government of the Soviet Union the collection by the Government of the United States outside the borders of the Soviet Union of radioactive debris directly associated with the Soviet nuclear explosions of August 29 and November 2, 1974. The Government of the United States is concerned by these occurrences, which are inconsistent with the terms of the 1963 Treaty of Moscow.

The United States Government has on several occasions since 1963 communicated to the Government of the Soviet Union its views con [Page 378] cerning 17 previous nuclear explosions which have similarly caused radioactive debris to be present in the atmosphere outside the territory of the Soviet Union. As recently as May 22, 1974 the Soviet Union replied to the latest United States communication on this subject, the U.S. aide-mémoire of March 21, 1974, and stated that, “appropriate Soviet authorities were and are taking the necessary measures for strict observance of Moscow Treaty of 1963 . . .”

As an original party to the 1963 Treaty of Moscow, the Government of the United States expects the Government of the Soviet Union to take steps to prevent any recurrence of such incidents. United States Government experience in recent years has shown that with proper precautions it is possible to prevent causing radio active debris to be present outside the territory of a state conducting nuclear explosions.

The United States Government is of the view that full compliance with the terms of the 1963 Treaty of Moscow by all parties is of vital importance, both for preserving the integrity and effectiveness of this treaty and also for the development between the Governments of the United States and of the Soviet Union of that state of mutual confidence necessary to ensure the success of future efforts to regulate nuclear explosions. The Government of the United States assumes that the Government of the Soviet Union fully shares this view. End quote.

2. Vorontsov said that he would transmit the note verbale to his authorities and that a reply would be provided in due course.

Kissinger

  1. Summary: The Department transmitted the text of a note verbale that Stabler delivered to Soviet Minister Counselor Vorontsov on January 16.

    Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, D750020–0208. Confidential. Drafted by Humphrey (EUR/SOV); cleared by Mark Garrison (EUR/SOV) and McNeill; approved by Wells Stabler (EUR). Repeated for information to the Mission to the IAEA at Vienna, USUN, and the Mission in Geneva. See Document 36 regarding the March 21, 1974, U.S. aide-mémoire transmitted in State 57208. The May 22 Soviet reply was not found.

    ↩