October 10, 1958
Correspondence Digest No. 12722 from Rome to Comrade Ogrodziński
This document was made possible with support from Carnegie Corporation of New York (CCNY)
240
October 10, correspondence digest from the code message of the ambassador in Rome:
opinions of the secretary of state in the Austrian MoFA
about the Rapacki Plan
Top secret!
Correspondence digest No 12722
from Rome, October 10, 1958
Comrade Ogrodziński
Comrade DRUTO by dispatch No 429 of the 10th of this month reports:
I relay Stroynowski’s information regarding his conversation with Kreisky.
- Kreisky attaches a great importance to the political character of the R. plan. Kreisky’s new elements as to the R. plan come down to:
a. extending the zone onto the four Scandinavian countries, Austria, Switzerland, Greece. Hungary [is] necessary, but we do not know if it can be included. Finally, inclusion of a part of the Soviet territory (the Baltic states, the belt near Finland’s border and, symbolically, a narrow belt along the Bug River) – that is, allegedly the Scandinavian position.
b. In reference to Bulganin’s proposal, K. believes that the main goal of the R. plan is reduction of conventional weapons and an effective control apparatus made up of the zone members, with the leading function [assigned] to the representatives of the individual countrieson their territory, while the others would participate in an advisory capacity.
K. believes that it would be acceptable to the USSR.
c. The new element in K.’s formulation: withdrawal of foreign troops is not a necessary condition, but could sometimes harmful such as Soviet withdrawal from Hungary.
K. expects a new campaign around the R. plan and our new initiatives. Then the SPO is ready to take an official dposition in the form of a declaration or an interview for our press.dbComrade Łobodycz, it is worth interest, although the source (Stroyn[owski]) is not very promising.b
2) Speaking about conversations with Prof. Lange,2[1]1 K. expects a quick realization of the 100 million dollars OECE loan. Apart from that, he is working on certain specific proposals, and when they are ripe, he would wish to come to Poland. If he were to come now under the pretext of a talk, it would make no sense. It seems that this proposal could be the inclusion of Poland in the European waterways system (financial and technical aid in the construction of the Danube-Oder Canal).
3) In Vienna, Prof. Hochfeld’s chief interlocutors would indeed be Peter Strasser, an ardent, and open anti-communist and Christian Broda, Kreisky’s man.
AMSZ, z. 10, w. 55, t. 525
21 See doc. no 138.
The secretary of state of the Austrian Ministory of Foreign Affairs, Kriesky, shares his opinions about the Rapacki Plan. He proposes certain elements, such as extending the nuclear-free zone to include the Scandinavian countries, and the establishment of a control body made up of representatives of the zone member states.
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