123. Letter From Romanian President Ceausescu and Greek Prime Minister Papandreou to President Reagan1
During the talks we held in Bucharest on 17th and 18th December of this year, we discussed the particularly dangerous situation Europe is facing today and decided to forward an appeal, concerning this matter, to you, President Ronald Reagan, and to Mr. Yuri Andropov, President of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the U.S.S.R. We do this taking into account the fact that following the beginning of deployment works for the American medium-range missiles in some West-European countries, the Soviet Union interrupted the Geneva talks and announced the introduction of countermeasures by deploying missiles in two socialist countries of Europe as well as in other zones of the globe. The dangerous situation which has thus been created is the starting point of a new escalation in the nuclear arms race which will increase the danger of a new World War.
There is no doubt that such a war will be a nuclear one, the consequences of which to the peoples of Europe and the world will be catastrophic. Never in its long history, mankind has been facing such a fraught danger, which threatens the very existence of peoples and of life itself on our planet. The situation has been further aggravated since the interruption of the Geneva Soviet-American negotiations of the medium range missiles and of the Vienna negotiations concerning the reduction of forces and armaments in Central Europe.2
Under these dramatic circumstances, on behalf of the Romanian and the Greek peoples and on our own behalf, we forward this appeal to you and the United States of America, asking you to do the utmost in order to stop this dangerous trend.
We strongly believe that a number of urgent measures should be taken, which will allow for a lessening of the tension existing today and will lead to the resumption of the dialogue and the negotiations between the United States of America and the Soviet Union. To this end, all possible efforts should be urgently made towards a suitable understanding allowing the halting of the deployment of the new United States medium range missiles in Europe and at the same time the non implementation of any of the nuclear countermeasures announced by [Page 343] the Soviet Union and the achievement, through the resumption of negotiations, of an agreement on a balanced reduction downwards to the lowest possible level and ultimately to the destruction of all medium range nuclear weapons in Europe.
We also share the view that certain additional measures have to be taken at the political level, to assist in the resumption of the dialogue, and to fill the political vacuum that exists today due to the interruption of this dialogue. As such measures we would suggest, initially, an American-Soviet meeting, at the level of Foreign Ministers at the earliest suitable time.
Furthermore, and in view of the fact that the new missiles are to be deployed on the territories of some European countries and a nuclear war in Europe will directly and diversely affect the existence of all the nations, the European countries should in our view contribute positively in the achievement of an agreement between the two parties. To this end we think it would be appropriate to convene a conference with the participation of the NATO and Warsaw Pact member countries to help in surpassing this critical moment and pave the way towards the resumption of negotiations. It would also be appropriate to examine the possibility of convening a U.S.A.-U.S.S.R summit meeting.
We are hopeful that you will understand the reasons that lead us to forward to you this appeal and that the United States of America and you personally will act in such a way as to meet the aspirations of peoples for peace, disarmament and security.
In this spirit, we express the readiness of Romania and Greece to actively contribute to the promotion of peace, disarmament and broad international co-operation.
With high consideration,
- Nicolae
Ceausescu
President of the Socialist Republic of Romania - Andreas G.
Papandreou
Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic3
- Source: Reagan Library, Paula J. Dobriansky Files, Romania-Correspondence (5). No classification marking.↩
- Documentation on the Vienna MBFR negotiations is scheduled for publication in Foreign Relations, 1977–1980, vol. V, European Security, 1977–1983.↩
- Printed from a copy that bears these typed signatures.↩