146. Memorandum From the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Clark) to Vice President Bush1
SUBJECT
- High Level Mission to Europe
The President has determined to defer his decision on applicability of the December 30, 1981, sanctions involving the embargo of oil and gas equipment exports to the Soviet Union pending return of a Mission to Europe headed by Under Secretary of State James Buckley to consult with representatives of the Governments of the United Kingdom, France, Italy and the Federal Republic of Germany.
The consultations will address restricting medium- and long-term government and government guaranteed export credits to the Soviet Union and convening a conference of these countries and others to consider the establishment of a standing mechanism for the management of such credit restrictions in the future. Agreement to convene a conference will be subject to concurrence by the governments involved that no new government or government-guaranteed medium- or long-[Page 496]term credit commitments will be made to the Soviet Union in the interim.
In its discussions with European leaders, the Mission should also encourage them to move ahead with further restrictions on non-essential imports from the Soviet Union. The Mission should also encourage the Allied Governments to join with us in an effort to limit European energy dependence on the Soviet Union. However, these latter points should be subordinated to the key objective of significant restraints on credits to the Soviet Union.
In addition to Under Secretary Buckley, the Mission will include representatives from the Departments of Treasury, Defense, Commerce and the National Security Council staff.
FOR THE PRESIDENT:
- Source: Reagan Library, Pipes Files, NSC Meetings: NSC 02/26/1982 Sanctions. Confidential. Also addressed to Haig, Regan, Weinberger, Baldridge, Casey, Kirkpatrick, Stockman, Brock, and Jones.↩