Letter to and from Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to President Ronald Reagan for his support on the negotiations in Geneva, October/November 1985

SECRET SYSTEM II 91145 OUTGOING WHITE HOUSE SITUATION ROOM PAGE 01 THE WHITE HOUSE 1317 DTG: 0520267 NOV 85 PSN: 075094 SIT169 TOR: 309/2014Z DISTRIBUTION: JP MB SIT RS /005 OP IMMED DE WTE * 1317 3092014 0 052026Z NOV 85 FM THE WHITE HOUSE TO THE CABINET OFFICE SEC RE T VIA CABINET OFFICE CHANNELS WH01317 NOVEMBER 5, 1985 DEAR MARGARET, THANK YOU FOR YOUR QUICK MESSAGE OF SUPPORT FOR THE U.S. COUNTERPROPOSAL THAT I OUTLINED TO YOU ON OCTOBER 31. WE INTEND TO KEEP THE CENTER-OF-GRAVITY OF THE PROPOSALS AROUND THE STRATEGIC AND INF DEFINITIONS WITH WHICH BOTH THE WEST AND THE SOVIETS ARE WELL FAMILIAR. OUR NEW PROPOSALS SEEK A BRIDGE BETWEEN SOME OF THE NUMBERS AND PERCENTAGES THEY HAVE ON THE TABLE AND OUR OWN FORMULATIONS FOR DEEP REDUCTIONS. THE IMPRESSIONS YOU PASSED FROM KADAR WERE ENCOURAGING. AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR YOUR VALUED COUNSEL, BOTH DURING OUR MEETINGS IN NEW YORK AND IN THIS LATEST EXCHANGE. WITH WARM, PERSONAL REGARDS, RON 0160 DECLASSIFIED NLRR M07-054#32008 BY Cu NARA DATE 9/11/07 CERDET - Be National Security Council The White House 360 RECE VED II System # 91145 85 NOV 4 P4:11 P4: Package 55 SEQUENCE TO HAS SEEN DISPOSITION / Bob Pearson P 2 William Martin Um 3. John Poindexter your A Paul Thompson Wilma Hall Bud McFarlane William Martin 4 um I NSC Secretariat 6 Situation Room 5 LB X MIT TAB TABI. I. cc: I - Information VP Regan 10 A = Action Buchanan R . Retain D . Dispatch N . No further Action Other COMMENTS Should be seen by: (Date/Time) # Patin 0930 fold for True, SECRET SYSTEM II 91145 NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON, D.C. 20506 SECRET November 4, 1985 ACTION MEMORANDUM FOR ROBERT C. McFARLANE FROM: BILL WRIGHT/PETER COMMER SUBJECT: Response to Prime Minister Thatcher on the Counterproposal Prime Minister Thatcher has responded (Tab A) to the President's letter to Allied Heads of Government (Tab B) sent on October 31 providing them the details of the U.S. counterproposal which we were planning to table soon in Geneva. Her comments, although preliminary, are very positive. She closes with observations provided by Hungarian communist party leader Kadar during a recent visit to Great Britain. He is optimistic about the prospects for success at the President's Geneva meeting. We believe only an acknowledgement is in order at this point, thanking her for her counsel both in New York last month and in responding to this recent letter. Recommendation That you brief the President on the content of the Thatcher reply and obtain his approval for the reply at Tab I via privacy channels. Approve of Disapprove Attachments Tab I Reply to Prime Minister Thatcher Tab A Prime Minister Thatcher's Cable Tab B Letter to Allied Heads of Government DECLASSIFIED SECRET Declassify on: OADR NLRR BY CN NARADATE 2/4/07 SECRET SECRET SYSTEM II 91145 RR SECRET VIA PRIVACY CHANNELS MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES TO PRIME MINISTER THATCHER DEAR MARGARET, THANK YOU FOR YOUR QUICK MESSAGE OF SUPPORT FOR THE US COUNTERPROPOSAL THAT I OUTLINED TO YOU ON OCTOBER 31. WE INTEND TO KEEP THE CENTER-OF-GRAVITY OF THE PROPOSALS AROUND THE STRATEGIC AND INF DEFINITIONS WITH WHICH BOTH THE WEST AND THE SOVIETS ARE WELL FAMILIAR. OUR NEW PROPOSALS SEEK A BRIDGE BETWEEN SOME OF THE NUMBERS AND PERCENTAGES THEY HAVE ON THE TABLE AND OUR OWN FORMULATIONS FOR DEEP REDUCTIONS. THE IMPRESSIONS YOU PASSED FROM KADAR WERE ENCOURAGING. AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR YOUR VALUED COUNSEL, BOTH DURING OUR MEETINGS IN NEW YORK AND IN THIS LATEST EXCHANGE. WITH WARM, PERSONAL REGARDS, RON DECLASSIFIED NLRR 054 "32010 BY 011 NARA DATE 9/11/07 SECRET SECRET WHITE HOUSE SITUATION ROOM PAGE 01 OF 03 CABINET OFFICE LOND 0001 DTG: 021900Z OCT 85 PSN: 070424 SIT902 DATE 11/04/85 TOR: 306/1954Z DISTRIBUTION: REPT /001 WHTS ASSIGNED DISTRIBUTION: SIT: MCF JP MART SIT EOB: WHSR COMMENT: MESSAGE ANNOTATIONS: NO MESSAGE ANNOTATIONS MESSAGE: IMMEDIATE DE WTE24 #0001 # 3061940 0 021900Z OCT 85 FM CABINET OFFICE LONDON TO THE WHITE HOUSE SECRET VIA CABO CHANNELS MESSAGE FROM THE PRIME MINISTER TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES DEAR RON. I WAS MOST GRATEFUL FOR YOUR MESSAGE OF 31 OCTOBER ON THE NEGOTIATIONS AT GENEVA. THIS ADVANCE NOTICE WAS MOST VALUABLE AND A FURTHER EXAMPLE OF THE SPLENDID WAY YOU HAVE KEPT YOUR ALLIES IN TOUCH. YOUR FURTHER PROPOSAL IS A MOST POSITIVE STEP, EXACTLY ON THE LINES WE DISCUSSED LAST WEEK. IT PUTS YOU IN A VERY STRONG DECLASSIFIED NLRR MD 107-054#32011 7-054 #32011 SECRET RV RW NARA DATE 9/14/11 SECRET WHITE HOUSE SITUATION ROOM PAGE 02 OF 03 CABINET OFFICE LOND 0001 DTG: 021900Z OCT 85 PSN: 070424 POSITION DIPLOMATICALLY AND WILL HAVE A FAVOURABLE IMPACT ON PUBLIC OPINION IN THE WEST. IT WILL HAVE MY FULL SUPPORT. YOU WOULD NOT EXPECT ME TO COMMENT IN DETAIL AT THIS STAGE. BUT IT MAY BE HELPFUL TO GIVE YOU A FEW INITIAL IMPRESSIONS. ON OFFENSIVE WEAPONS, YOUR DETERMINATION TO BRING THE RUSSIANS BACK TO THE STRATEGIC AND INF DEFINITIONS WHICH THEY HAD PREVIOUSLY ACCEPTED IS ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. IT IS ONLY ON THIS BASIS THAT YOU CAN WORK TOWARDS SIGNIFICANT REDUCTIONS THAT PROVIDE FOR EQUAL LIMITS ON BOTH SIDES. IN THE INF CONTEXT, YOUR PROPOSALS HAVE IMPLICATIONS FOR THE DEPLOYMENT PROGRAMME IN EUROPE. THESE WILL NEED TO BE LOOKED AT IN THE APPROPRIATE NATO BODY. ON THE STRATEGIC DEFENCE SIDE, I HOPE THAT THE SUGGESTIONS I LEFT WITH YOU IN NEW YORK LAST WEEK ON THE LINE OF APPROACH YOU MIGHT MESSAGE (CONTINUED) : FOLLOW WITH GORBACHEV WILL PROVE HELPFUL. IVE JUST HAD A TALK ABOUT THESE ISSUES WITH KADAR, THE HUNGARIAN COMMUNIST PARTY LEADER, WHO IS HERE ON A VISIT. HE MADE THREE POINTS: - GORBACHEV IS SINCERE IN WANTING MAJOR REDUCTIONS IN NUCLEAR WEAPONS AND IS READY FOR SUBSTANTIVE TALKS WITH YOU ON THIS: - WHAT MATTERS MOST TO THE RUSSIANS IS BROAD EQUALITY WITH THE U S IN NUCLEAR STRENGTH: - THE SOVIET UNION WILL GO AHEAD WITH DEVELOPING ITS OWN SDI, WHATEVER THE BURDEN ON THE SOVIET ECONOMY, IF YOU AND GORBACHEV ARE UNABLE TO AGREE ON PERMISSIBLE LIMITS ON SUCH WORK. SECRET SECRET WHITE HOUSE SITUATION ROOM PAGE 03 OF 03 CABINET OFFICE LOND 0001 DTG: 021900Z OCT 85 PSN: 070424 ON BALANCE, HE WAS OPTIMISTIC ABOUT THE PROSPECTS FOR SUCCESS AT YOUR MEETING IN GENEVA. HE IS IN NO DOUBT THAT THE ALLIANCE IS FULLY BEHIND YOUR APPROACH AND WILL I HOPE PASS THIS MESSAGE ON TO GORBACHEV. WITH MY WARM BEST WISHES FOR SUCCESS IN YOUR HISTORIC TASK. YOURS, MARGARET SECRET