Foreign Relations of the United States, 1977–1980, Volume XIX, South Asia

140. Memorandum From Secretary of State Vance to President Carter¹

Washington, April 25, 1979

[Omitted here is material unrelated to India]

Vajpayee. We devoted today’s meeting with Vajpayee to a variety of multilateral issues and the nuclear question.² I urged the Indians to support UNEF renewal,³ and to resist attempts to expel Egypt and Israel from UN organizations. Vajpayee was non-committal on the first issue but stated that India would oppose expulsion efforts in UN organizations or in the NAM. In the nuclear discussion, he indicated a willingness to explore regional solutions if China could be included in some way. We urged him to reconsider his opposition to a joint Indo-Pakistani statement on the non-development of nuclear weapons.

I think our talks have succeeded in demonstrating our deep concern on the nuclear issue while underlining the broad areas of agreement in our bilateral relations. Vajpayee seems to accept the concept that we have a mutual problem in Pakistan.

[Omitted here is material unrelated to India]]

1. Source: Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Brzezinski Material, Subject File, Box 21, Evening Reports (State): 4/79. Secret. Carter initialed at the top of the memorandum.
2. The April 25 meeting was the second of two discussions between Vance and Vajpayee. The first took place on April 24; see Document 138. No memorandum of conversation of the April 25 meeting was found.
3. The UNEF II was deployed in the Sinai Peninsula from October 1973 to July 1979 for the purpose of supervising the cease-fire after the October 1973 Arab-Israeli war and facilitating the redeployment of Egyptian and Israeli forces in the area.