232. Message From British Prime Minister Callaghan to President Carter1
WH91026. Deliver at opening of business eyes only. The following is a retransmittal of a Cabinet Office Line message previously received at the White House.
Following for President Carter from Prime Minister.
Dear Jimmy
Like us, you and Cy Vance will be closely watching the progress of the election now taking place in Rhodesia. It is bound to provoke a lot of public debate in both Britain and America, and I look forward to sharing with you our assessments of the outcome. In any event I am sure that we can expect strong and conflicting pressures from various quarters either to dismiss the result out of hand as of no significance; or to go straight for recognition of the new regime and the lifting of sanctions. I am equally sure that we ought to resist these pressures. The Anglo-American commitment to a comprehensive solution, through a ceasefire and internationally-supervised elections, will still make sense whatever happens inside Rhodesia this week.
But the immediate aftermath of the Rhodesian election may give us a fresh opportunity to show that our commitment is still relevant. We may also need to move quickly to influence both sides in the war in favour of peaceful solutions before there is a further hardening of attitudes. Public opinion will in any case be looking to us for a lead.
My own commitment to preside at a negotiation between the parties, which was the basis of Cledwyn Hughes and Steve Low’s mission to Africa last year, still stands. But such a meeting would have to be carefully prepared, and I believe it would be a mistake now, as it would have been then, simply to announce that I propose to call the parties together.
What I do have in mind, however, is to announce that I have decided to ask Cledwyn Hughes to be ready to return to Africa after our election and to advise me whether circumstances have changed since his last visit2 in such a way as to enable a negotiation to start. As to the timing of such an announcement, in normal circumstances I [Page 687] should prefer not to make any comment until the full result of the Rhodesian election is announced on or around 30 April. But the Rhodesians are already beginning to leak forecasts of the turnout, and this will increase the pressures on both of us to respond sooner—perhaps as early as this weekend. I therefore believe that instead of commenting formally on the final election result when it is announced, which would in itself confer some status on the election, it would be better to make our position clear now. I realise that you have to make a Presidential Determination, but I gather this is unlikely to come before the end of May and, hopefully, we may be able to start the process of negotiation before then.
In saying that I proposed to ask Cledwyn to resume his mission, I should naturally like to say also that I had been in touch with you before taking my decision; that Cledwyn would (as before) be accompanied by Steve Low; and that Cy Vance would be ready to attend a meeting under my chairmanship if they reported positively. But I appreciate that this may pose difficulties for you when we are in the midst of our own election campaign, and I would therefore welcome your views on how far, if at all, I might go in this direction when I make my statement. I enclose a draft of the sort of statement which I am thinking of making.3
With warm regards
Jim Callaghan
- Source: Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Brzezinski Material, President’s Correspondence with Foreign Leaders File, Box 20, United Kingdom: Prime Minister James Callaghan, 10/78–8/80. Confidential; Eyes Only. Callaghan’s message was originally transmitted via the Cabinet Office Channel, which was a direct line between Carter and Number 10 Downing Street.↩
- November 29–December 11, 1978.↩
- Enclosed but not printed.↩