299. Memorandum From Acting Secretary of State Christopher to President Carter 1

South Africa. Ambassador Bowdler called us from Pretoria this afternoon to say that he had just had a cryptic telephone call from Pik Botha’s deputy, Brand Fourie, in which Fourie said, in effect, there was no problem with the three affirmations Bowdler had asked for when they met earlier in the day.2 He also said that he thought there would be an opportunity to say something public early next week. The affirmations we requested are:

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—That South Africa does not have or intend to develop nuclear explosives for any purpose, peaceful or otherwise.

—That the Kalahari facility we have described to them is not a testing facility for nuclear explosives.

—That there will be no nuclear explosive testing of any kind in South Africa.

In his meeting with Fourie, Bowdler also told him that the most effective way to defuse this matter would be for South Africa to declare publicly its intention to adhere to the NPT and place all of its nuclear facilities under full international safeguards.3 In the subsequent telephone call, Fourie said he wanted to talk to Bowdler about this point tomorrow.

[Omitted here is material unrelated to South Africa.]

  1. Source: Carter Library, Plains File, Subject File, Box 38, State Department Evening Reports, 8/77. Secret. Carter initialed the memorandum and wrote “Warren. J.” in the upper right-hand corner. Vance was in Beijing for meetings with Chairman Hua, Foreign Minister Huang, and senior Chinese officials August 20–26.
  2. See Document 297
  3. Carter wrote in the left-hand margin next to this sentence: “good C.”