Foreign Relations of the United States, 1955–1957, Regulation of Armaments; Atomic Energy, Volume XX

255. Telegram From the Embassy in the United Kingdom to the Department of State¹

London, July 8, 1957—8 p.m.

213. USDEL Disarmament No. 389. Subject: 132nd Meeting Subcommittee, 3:30 p.m., July 8, 1957. Zorin made hour and ten minute statement of Soviet position principally reaffirming Soviet recent positions, with no new concrete positions, no moves backward, and a general statement that Soviet Union firmly convinced that today a real possibility of first step agreement could be seen and Soviet Delegation was prepared to cooperate in a new formulation on renunciation of use linked with a cessation of production.

Zorin noted Soviet concession to West requirement for controls on test suspension but while subcommittee could be on threshold of agreement West continued to bar progress by linking test suspension to other elements of partial agreement, particularly cessation of production with its necessarily complicated inspection system. Criticized US position for (1) attempting to legalize nuclear weapons through use formula; (2) reserving right to refabricate old weapons stocks; (3) providing for stationing of atomic weapons in other states and (4) including right to train other nationals in weapons use.

Zorin criticized Four Power test paper² for vagueness and failure to state length of proposed test suspension. Asked for a test suspension for a definite period of time. Queried if US prepared to increase suspension period beyond ten months. Said he noted other Western states had not yet commented on any specific period of time.

Zorin throughout indulged in mild propaganda; US nuclear scientists engaged solely in production and development of nuclear weapons; spurious effort of US scientists to justify on humanitarian grounds desire to continue tests for four to five more years in search for so-called clean bomb.

Element of flexibility in Zorin’s speech in comments to effect that (1) Soviet viewed favorably West acceptance of Soviet test suspension proposal, although tied to impossible conditions, and (2) Soviet willing to continue seek formula for weapons use, but it must “include a serious obstacle” to atomic war.

Western four individually with brief comments reserved judgment and five agreed not to meet until Wednesday³ to allow time for study of Soviet statement.

Whitney

1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 330.13/7–857. Secret. Repeated to Bonn, Paris for Embassy and USRO, Moscow, and Tokyo, and pouched to Ottawa.
2. The Western powers’ statement on nuclear test suspension introduced in the Subcommittee of the U.N. Disarmament Commission on July 2 (U.N. doc. DC/SC.1/59) is printed in Documents on Disarmament, 1945–1959–, vol. II, pp. 802–803.
3. July 10.