101. Editorial Note
In a memorandum to President Kennedy, June 26, 1961, McGeorge Bundy discussed closing out the bilateral talks which had begun in Washington June 19 between John McCloy and Soviet Deputy Foreign Minister Valerian Zorin in an effort to reach agreement on an appropriate forum for multinational general disarmament negotiations. Bundy noted that both Adlai Stevenson, U.S. Representative to the United Nations, and McCloy believed that the Soviets “no longer feel—if they ever did—that anything serious can be accomplished.” McCloy and Zorin met for the last time on June 30 and agreed to reconvene in mid-July. During a meeting with President Kennedy on June 30, Zorin raised the issue of merging the test ban talks with those on general disarmament should the test talks fail. President Kennedy reaffirmed his opposition to such a move. McCloy and Zorin met in Moscow seven times between July 17 and July 29 but reached no agreement. For text of Bundyʼs memorandum and the memorandum of Kennedyʼs conversation with Zorin, see Foreign Relations, 1961–1963, volume VII, pages 97–102.