120. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in Argentina1
100276. For the Ambassador from the Secretary. Subject: Message for President Galtieri.
1. Secret–Entire text.
2. Please deliver the following message from me to President Galtieri2 as quickly as you can.
3. Begin text:
Dear Mr. President:
Please accept President Reagan’s and my deep personal appreciation for the patience and statesmanship which you have shown over the last 24 hours in the face of some extremely unhelpful press and public speculation about our discussions. We know these press stories have been a great burden to you and your government.
I will be proceeding to Buenos Aires tomorrow with some new ideas which I am convinced we can use to bridge the significant gap which still exists between the parties, provided both governments show additional flexibility and statesmanship. These thoughts involve creating de facto conditions on the Islands which, in the context of the objectives of the negotiations, will ensure that Argentina’s essential needs are met.
Hopefully all the parties involved in this delicate situation will be able to avoid feeding or overreacting to mischievous press stories in the days ahead. We must at all costs not lose sight of the many common objectives we have and the common danger we face that the situation, if not handled properly, could be used by common enemies to strike at us both. We must not let the situation be turned into a North/South problem at the instigation of the East.
I look forward to seeing you again Friday morning.3
Sincerely, Alexander M. Haig, Jr. End text.
- Source: Reagan Library, Executive Secretariat, NSC Cable File, Falkland File (04/14/1982) (5). Secret; Sensitive; Niact Immediate; Nodis.↩
- In telegram 100334 to London, April 14, the Department transmitted a similar message addressed to Pym from Haig. (Reagan Library, Executive Secretariat, NSC Country File, Europe and Soviet Union, United Kingdom (04/01/1982–07/31/1982) (4))↩
- April 16.↩