399. Memorandum From the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Brzezinski) to President Carter1
SUBJECT
- Brazil Nuclear Agreement
The Brazilian Foreign Minister made an extremely strong statement2 about foreign interference with Brazil’s sovereign right to make international agreements, like the one with the Federal Republic of Germany on nuclear reprocessing facilities. The U.S. Embassy thinks Brazil is very sensitive to your remarks on nuclear energy exports, but that the “extreme aggressiveness” of the Foreign Minister’s statement is a tactical effort to ensure that after U.S.-German discussions, the German-Brazilian agreement will be as close to the original as possible. Since President Geisel has made remarks stressing the “safeguard” provisions of the agreement, there is reason to believe that the Brazilian Government is not wholly united on the issue, and that they may just be trying to adapt to your position. In fact, recent and very private probes by people in the State Department indicate some willingness by the Brazilians to negotiate directly with us.3
- Source: Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Staff Material, North/South, Pastor Country File, Box 2, Brazil, 1–2/77. Secret. Sent for information. Carter initialed the upper right-hand of the memorandum.↩
- See Document 397.↩
- Ibid.↩