The Secretary called in Ambassador Dobrynin February 4 for their first formal conversation since his return from vacation. The Secretary said that on our side we saw as a year of opportunity for bettering U. The rest of the conversation was in this context and covered the following main points:. Dobrynin said he did not believe his government had thought about this possibilityโwhich was complicated of course by the involvement of the other countriesโbut he would inquire.
Dobrynin said that his government is eager to discuss convening a European Conference with us. The Secretary indicated that we may have something to say at a later date, but made no commitment to discuss the subject.
The Secretary asked particularly about the Brosio mission. The Secretary pointed out that the nature of MBFR was such that the subject was inevitably of primary concern to the members of the two alliances. Dobrynin conceded that the major involvement in negotiations would be by the two alliances, but said that non-membersโhe named the Scandinavians, Spain and Yugoslaviaโhad a clear interest and we must avoid any impression of trying to decide the fate of others.
Middle East. We did not have concrete proposals to offer, but thought the parties themselves should come forward with proposals. If we saw possibilities of bridging the gap we might offer suggestions to facilitate agreement. The Secretary told Dobrynin that a great deal depended on what the Soviets did with regard to Sadat and reminded Dobrynin of our long-standing interest in a limitation on arms supplies to the area.
The Secretary also noted that Sadat seemed to have a need now to get talks [Page ] started. He added that he was not authorized either to encourage or discourage the current U. Dobrynin also asked about the Israeli attitude towards a renewal of the Jarring mission, reporting that Jarring himself was discouraged by the Israeli attitude. The Secretary said that we would favor a renewal of the Jarring mission but that the parties kept raising preconditions. He thought Egypt had been relatively forthcoming and hoped Israel would make a further effort.
