Memorandum, State Department Summary of Telegrams

NLT(Naval Aide) 186 OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE WASHiNGTON DECLASSIFIED State Dept. Guidelines, March 6, 1982 E.O. 12065, Sec. 3-402 March 26, 1951 DEB NLT, Date 9-4-85 By SUMMARY OF ELEGRAMS FOUR-POWER The four-power talks in Paris on Friday EXPLORATORY TALKS were "confidential" in that it was decided beforehand that the press would not be briefed on it. Gromyko appeared to offer a "deal" by which the Soviets would accept the Western Powers' item 1 (on international tensions) if the West would accept the Soviet item on fulfillment of the Potsdam Agreement and on demilitarization. By indicating his willingness to accept our item 1, Gromyko appeared ready to drop his proposal on the reduction of armed forces of the four powers. The Western Powers, however, made it clear to Gromyko that the Soviet item on demilitariza- - tion of Germany was totally unacceptable in its present wording and as a separate agenda item. Gromyko's suggestion was therefore not pur - sued in detail because we did not want to give the impression that we regarded it a.s a possible basis for agreement. At the seventeenth session of the talks on Saturday discussion was devoted to the Austrian Treaty item. The Soviets maintained their previous position that: 1) the Austrian and Trieste questions were inseparably linked; and 2) the Soviets desired the inclusion of the Trieste question as a separate item. The delegates made no progress toward the solution of this problem, but agreed to meet again on Tuesday. INDOCHINA Minister Heath reports that intelligence continues to confirm the imminence of a major Viet Minh attack which even the French now admit may have a closer issue than the January Viet Yen offensive. De Lattre's prepa- rations seem well in hand and his intelligence on enemy plans unusually complete. The basic uncertainty is the intention of the Chinese Com- - munists during or immediately after a Viet Minh attack. In alerting the Department Heath suggests that we give consideration to the issuance of a clear-cut US statement concerning the consequences of a Chinese Communist invasion.