Foreign Relations of the United States, 1981–1988, Volume XIII, Conflict in the South Atlantic, 1981–1984

150. Telegram From Secretary of State Haig to the White House¹

Buenos Aires, April 19, 1982, 1614Z

Secto 6045. For the President. Subject: Message to the President.

1. I have just sent the text developed here² to London and Washington,³ along with my analysis of it.⁴ I believe we have reached the Argentine bottom line. Mrs. Thatcher will have great difficulty accepting this text; she will probably reach the conclusion that she would be unable to make the case that she has lived up to her pledges to Parliament. But she may feel it is within range of the acceptable.

2. In sending the text to London, I have taken care not to advocate its acceptance. Any hint that we are pressuring the UK to accept the Argentine position—particularly this Argentine position—would be politically explosive.

3. I believe the best course now is to proceed to Washington to report to you, and then go on to London, if Mrs. Thatcher wishes. If she thinks I should divert enroute and come directly to London, I ask your permission to do so. Otherwise I will see you tomorrow morning.

Haig

1. Source: Reagan Library, Executive Secretariat, NSC Country File, Latin America/Central, Argentina (04/18/1982–04/19/1982). Secret; Flash; Nodis. Sent for information Flash to the Department of State. A stamped notation at the top of the telegram indicates that McFarlane saw it.
2. Following the previous evening’s meetings, which lasted until 3 a.m., (see Document 148), Haig met again with the Argentines later that morning. No memorandum of conversation of this meeting has been found. Haig later wrote of the meeting in his memoirs: “Later in the morning, I met with the Argentinians to clear up a number of unresolved points. This, too, was a strenuous session, but by 1 P.M., we had in hand a modified text that anticipated some of the British objections.” (Haig, Caveat, p. 289)
3. See Document 152.
4. In telegram Secto 6049 from Haig in Buenos Aires to London, the White House, and the Department, April 19, Haig provided a paragraph-by-paragraph annotation of the draft agreement, highlighting the textual changes made as a result of his second round of negotiations in Buenos Aires. A copy of this telegram, as seen by Clark, is in the Reagan Library, Executive Secretariat, NSC Country File, Latin America/Central, Falklands War [Cables 090131, 091000, 091154, 091640, 181715, 191620, 191740, 191754, 192115].