243. Letter From President Carter to Australian Prime Minister Fraser1
Thank you for your letter of August 25.2 I am particularly pleased that your Government has decided to proceed with the mining and export of uranium. I believe the availability of Australian uranium will be a significant factor in pursuing our common nonproliferation interests, particularly in reducing pressures for reprocessing and the spread of the plutonium economy.
We are now inviting other countries to attend an International Nuclear Fuel Cycle Evaluation organizational meeting, to be held in Washington October 19–21. We look forward to active Australian participation. I hope your representatives will be able to lead or coordinate one area of follow-up work—perhaps fuel assurances.
We will, of course, be keeping you fully informed through the diplomatic channel as preparations for the meeting proceed. Similarly, we will be consulting closely with your Government concerning general nuclear supplier policies and further plans for discussions among the London Suppliers Group.
I want to express my thanks for your allowing Justice Fox3 to visit Washington. While I did not meet him personally, I understand from those who did that their discussions were very useful.
I regret that it was not possible for Bob Strauss to visit Australia early this month as we had originally planned. As you are aware, however, he is trying to reschedule the visit and still hopes to be in Canberra some weeks from now. I understand he will be communicating directly with you concerning new dates.
Sincerely,
- Source: Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Brzezinski Material, President’s Correspondence with Foreign Leaders File, Box 1, Australia, Prime Minister J. Malcolm Fraser, 3–12/77. No classification marking.↩
- See Document 242.↩
- Russell Walter Fox, Chief Judge of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory, headed the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry.↩