157. Editorial Note
Secretary of State Henry Kissinger departed Washington on July 9, 1975, for visits to Paris (July 9–10), Geneva (July 10–11), Bonn (July 11–12), and London (July 12). Explaining the nature of his trip, Kissinger stated: “I am leaving for consultations with our European allies and also to meet with the Soviet Foreign Minister to review Soviet-American relations, and particularly to discuss the situation in the Middle East.” (Department of State Bulletin, August 4, 1975, page 185)
While in Geneva, Kissinger and Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko held a series of discussions, primarily on the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT), the Middle East, and the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE). Memoranda of these conversations are printed in Foreign Relations, 1969–1976, volume XVI, Soviet Union, August 1974–November 1976, as Documents 159, 161, and 162. During their meeting on July 11, which took place from 1:10 to 2:10 p.m. in Kissinger’s room at the Intercontinental Hotel, Kissinger and Gromyko discussed the West German-Brazilian agreement concerning the sale of nuclear equipment. Gromyko noted: “Our attention has been drawn to one fact, and trying to assess the significance of that fact we cannot come to any optimistic conclusion—and that is the agreement between West Germany and Brazil to provide nuclear reactors and other equipment. Our assessment is like that of others—that Brazil is on the path to the production of nuclear weapons and want to use the help provided by West Germany. Am I right that this isn’t a theoretical problem but a problem of practical policy? It concerns our two states as parties to the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Incidentally, Germany is party to the NPT, but Brazil is not.
“You are located closer to Brazil geographically and politically. And we believe you are more aware of how West Germany is breathing in this matter.
“Kissinger: We don’t believe Brazil has decided to build nuclear weapons but this deal creates the possibility and we are concerned for the future. When a complete fuel cycle is provided, it provides the possibility to obtain fuel. But we are concerned and have expressed our concern publicly.
“We had hoped this suppliers’ conference would agree on safeguards. But if it doesn’t, we would be prepared to exchange views bilaterally, because it is a dangerous development.” (Ibid., Document 162)
At the conclusion of the discussions, Kissinger and Gromyko released a joint statement on July 11. For the text of the statement, see Department of State Bulletin, August 4, 1975, pages 188–189.