Office of the Historian
  1. Home
  2. Historical Documents
  3. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Volume XIV, Soviet Union
  4. Document 3

3. Telegram From the Embassy in the Soviet Union to the Department of State1

Moscow, January 8, 1964, 6 p.m.

2121. Deptel 1945.2 In my discussion with Gromyko on Dec. 3,3 I did consider it useful to review entire range of pending bilateral issues in way designed to focus his attention on bilateral relations as whole and to leave impression of interrelationship between Civil Air Agreement, leased line, satellite communications, Consular Convention and Exchange Agreement. However, I am somewhat alarmed by lengths to which this thought is carried in introductory paragraph of reftel, which would appear to make settlement any of these dependent on settlement [Page 5] of all. We do not consider such linkage either feasible or in US interest. These several questions involve different agencies of Soviet system and different points of view, which, even if they really wanted to do so, Soviet Foreign Ministry or even Soviet leadership might have difficulty in overcoming or reconciling at any given time. Fact is that despite provision in Roosevelt-Litvinov agreement4 calling for prompt negotiation consular convention we have managed to carry on consular functions for past 30 years with degrees of success dependent more on general political atmosphere than on non-existence of conventions as such. Similarly, we have developed and carried on increasingly successful exchange program over past six years without any of other arrangements now under negotiation. All of these proposals are desirable and all are interrelated in the general context of bilateral relations and in the sense that each supports, or facilitates the carrying out of the other. However, flat linkage between them would reduce rate of progress to least common denominator (we’re not even certain which this is, at present) and even risk set-back from present levels, notably in field exchanges. I trust this is not what Dept has in mind.

Kohler
  1. Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, Central Files 1964–66, CON 4 US–USSR. Secret.↩
  2. Telegram 1945 to Moscow, January 4, commented on the inter-relationship of several bilateral issues and offered specific advice on two aspects of the negotiations for a consular agreement. (Ibid.)↩
  3. See Foreign Relations, 1961–1963, vol. V, Document 383.↩
  4. For text of this agreement, November 16, 1933, see ibid., The Soviet Union, 1933–1939, pp. 33–34.↩