41. Memorandum From A. Denis Clift of the National Security Council Staff to Secretary of State Kissinger 1
SUBJECT
- US-Greek Base Negotiations
We are now approaching the second round of US-Greek base talks, scheduled to begin in Athens on April 7.
State, without White House clearance, has sent the message at Tab A2 to Embassy Athens, providing guidance for the talks.
NSSM 215, U.S. Security Policy Toward Greece,3 was issued to ensure that preparations for the talks would go forward in the NSC system, this bearing in mind such contentious interagency issues as homeporting [1 line not declassified].
The NSSM response4 worked a very useful effect in that it brought DOD around and led to interagency agreement [21/2 lines not declassified].
The NSSM response also reached the conclusion that, despite the internal U.S. Navy decision to give up homeporting as soon as possible, this “concession” to the Greeks should be in return for meaningful Greek concessions. This quid pro quo approach has been weakened in the instructions at Tab A; Navy clearly plans to give up homeporting in this round, concessions or not.
[Page 146]The approach the U.S. Government is taking in these talks—[less than 1 line not declassified] to U.S.-Greek and Greek-NATO linkages, to homeporting—involves interagency policy issues that should be confirmed in a decision memorandum. I recommend that action be taken on Log #1737, March 21, 1975, which forwarded the NSSM 215 response together with a proposed NSDM.5
Recommendation
That action be taken on the NSDM forwarded with NSC Log #1737.6
- Source: Ford Library, NSC Institutional Files (H–Files), Box H–33, NSSM 215. Secret. Sent for action.↩
- Attached but not printed.↩
- Document 33.↩
- See Document 40.↩
- Document 39.↩
- The NSDM was issued on April 8; see Document 43.↩