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!~COMING TELEGRAM Departmenf .of State 

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\EMlJ SBER BERLIN) . T0 RUEHC/SECST ATE ·WASHDC fT04iil IN FO RUEHCR/AMF.MBASSY M0~17 RUDTCR/AMEMBASSY LONDON 297 ' ' RU FNCR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 290 .' RUFHOL/AMEMBASSY. BONN 893

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f~US l~b'i·l,&-1 V~.J~ lleu.1 l'f-7

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r-5 E C R f 'f-MAY 09 {§EONE OFTwQ) 

· ID·?lf~'i'i
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E X D I S 
~UBJECT : 	MEETING BETW EE N GOVMA YOR BRAN~T AND SOVIET 
AMBASSADOR T0 1GDR ABRASIMOV 

REFF.RENCE: BERLINTEL 1033 TO DEPT., 883 TO BONN 
1. SPANGENBERG HAS GIVEN US THE FOLLOWING ACrOUNT OF BRANDT'S 
CONVERSATION WITH ABRASIMOV AT NOON ON MAY 8 IN THF HO~~ OF 

J 
SW EDISH CONSUL GENERAL BACKLUND • . HE S 1POKE FROM A MEMORANDUM 
OF CONVERSATION DRAFTED BY THE GOVERNING MAYOR BEFOR~· HIS DE­
PARTURE FOR BONN. THE DISCUSSION LASTED TWO AND A HALF 

PAGE TWO RUFHJA 050/1-S E CR E T;, 
HOURS. 

2. ABRASI MOV OPENED THE CONVERSATION BY ASKING RRANDT ABOUT THE CONGRESS IN STOCK HOLM BRANDT HAD 1.JUST ATTE~DED, 'AND SUBSF' ­OUENTLY DISCUSSED THE 23RD CONGRESS ' OF THE GOMMUNISJ PARTY I~l THE SOVIET UNION WHICH, HE SAID 9 HAQ MAINLY CONSIDERED INTEoNAL P~ OBLF:MS AND WAS "UNSENSATIONAL''. ABRASIMOV THFN CONTRASTF'n THE GERMAN AND SOVIET . QUESTS FOR PF.ACE. HE DF.S~RIBEn Gf. 0 MAN POL(CY l\S ... HOSTILE.", ESPECIALLY AS Rf\SED UPON THE RESTORATION OF THF. 19.37 BORDERS. THE FRG PF.ACF: NO)F., ' HE SAID, DOFS NOT SFP\IF: T HF. CAUSE 0 F PE f\ CE • BR I\ ND T " F. NE RGET I C ALLY REBUT TED " T H I S " I ~\11 AND THEN BROUGHT UP THE SUBJECT OF GE~MAN UNITY. 
3. ABRASIMOV SAID THERE ARE TWO GERMAN STATES THAT rviusT >. STRIVE TO UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER EVEN THOUGH DIFFERF.NCFS IN THFio SOCIAL SYSTEMS MAKE THE DEGREE OF UNDERSTANDING NECESSARILY 
' , 
-2-1044, May 9 (section one of two), from Berlin 

LIMITED. BRANDT REPLIED THAT THERE ARF NOT ONLY DIFFFPFN~~~ 
IN SOCIAL SYSTEMS BUT THERE ARF ALSO DIFFERING nlr'·'S A"YJON~ T'1F GREAT POWERS CI.E., THE WEST AND THE SOVIETS> ON THE quFsiION
OF GERMAN UNITY. 
4. ABRASIMOV ARGUED THAT IT MUST RE POSSIBLE NONETHFLFSS FOR 
PAGE THREE RUFHJA 050/ 1 -s-£-C R E T 
BOTH GERMANYS TO AGREE UPON CERTAIN PRACTICAL QUESTIONS. H'C' MENTIONED IN THIS CONNEC1ION THE PROSPECTS FOR AN F.XCHANG~ OF 
SPEAKERS BETWEEN THE SPD AND SED, ALTHOUGH HE DID NOT DI~r.uss THIS SUBJECT IN DETAIL. A9RASIMOV STRESS~D "VERY POINTFDtY" THAT THE GDR IS NOT A SOVIET STATE. HE SAID·OF HIMSELF THf\T Ht' COULD NOT DICTATE POLICY IN EAST GERMANY. IF HE HAD ATTF~pTFD 
0 DO THIS, HIS REMOVAL WOULD HAVE BEEN SOUGHT A LONG 1 I ME AGO. 
5. 
ABRASIMOV DESCRIBED FRG/SOVIET RELATIONS AS UNSATISFACTOPY 
AND SAID THAT IN THE FIELD OF TRADE THE FRG MUST EITHER lMPROV~ 
ITS RELATIONS WITH THE SOVIETS OR FIND OTHER 
TRADE PARTNERS TO FILL THE GAP NOW FILLED BY THE .SOVIETS. AT 
THE PARTY LEVEL, ABRASIMOV SAID THAT RF:LATIONS RETMrF.N THr S0'1Ji:'TS 
AND THE SPD ARE POOR; SOVIET RELATIONS WITH SOCIALIST PARTIES ' 
IN OTHER COUNTRIES ARE FAR BETTER. HE REGRETTED THAT THF r.oM­
MUNIST PARTY 'rs OUTLAWED IN THE FRG. 


6. 
BERLIN WAS THE THEME 'or THE FINAL PORTION OF THIS DISCUSSION. 
ABRASIMOV OBJECTED TO THE PRESENCE OF BUNDESTAG REPRF.SrNTATy\1FS 
AND OTHER FRG OFFICIALS IN WEST BERLIN. HE THANKED BRANDT 1.A'ARM Y ... .... 
FOR THE LATTER'S REMARKS IN A RECENT BIWEEKLY BROADCAST ABOUT 



PAGE FOUR RUFHJA 050/1 .s-E--e R E T THE VALOR OF THE TWO SOVIET PILOTS WHO LOST THEIR L~IVES IN THF: STOSSENSEE PLANE CRASH. BRANDT SEIZED THIS OPPORTUNITY TO C0~1PLAIN ABOUT THE SONIC BOOMS CAUSED BY SO"IF.T JETS. ARRASIMOV SAID THESE FLIGHTS WOULD BE KEPT TO A MINIMUM. 
7. ABRASIMOV DEPLORED THE POOR STATE OF RELATIONS BETWFrN 
WEST BERLIN AND THE SOVIET UNION IN rrttE FIELD OF TRADF.. 
~l!THOUT MENTIONING STARCHINOV BY NAME, HE ASKED WHY IT HAS 
~OT BEEN POSSIBLE FOR THE SOVIETS TO OPEN A SMALL TRADE OFFtCF. 
IN ~rF.ST BERLIN. THIS OFFICE, HE SAID, WOULD DEAL NOT ONLY ~1ITH
wEsi .BERLIN FIRMS BUT ALSO WITH FIRMS IN THE FRG. BRANDT MAD~ 
NO DIRECT REPLY. HE DISCUSSED THE COMMON GROUND ON liTHICH THF. 

~ERMANY CURRENCY AND ECONOMIC SYSTEM IS BAS~D AS BETWEEN WEST · 
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. . 
• 
--BEeRET­
-3-1044, May 9 (section one of two), from Berlin 

BERLIN ~1D THE FRG, EMPHASIZING THAT RF:RL.iN ITSF.LF 15 NnT l\N 
A .E~ NANROWLY CONTROLLED IN THIS RESPECT BY (#) THr PnOTFCTTVF. 
POW ..... RS. BRANDT SAID THAT HE WOULD RF.FLECT UPON HO•·• qi:-Rl I J'~ 
PORTION OF THE WHOLE OF FRG/SOVIET TRADE MIGHT BF. I~CP~A·~~D-IN 

THE FUTURE. · · · · · -r. 
18. ABRASIMOV SAID THERE SHOULD BE MORE CULTURAL EXCHANG~~ R~­T 1EEN BERLIN AND THE SOVIET UNION, SUGGESTING THAT THFRF' RF. SCHEDULED EVERY THREE MONTHS A MAJOR SOVIET CULTURAL EVENT tN 
PAGE FIVE ' RUF'HJA 050/ l S E e-~r.-1--­BERL IN. HE QUOTED EACH OF THE ALLIED AMBASSADORS AS H~VING TOLD HIM THAT THEY HAD NO OBJECTI ON IN PRINCIPLE TO THI~. BRANDT ASKED WHETHER IT WAS NOT EASIER TO INCREASF SUCH FXCHAN~FS 
N A SETTING THAT IS NOT GOVERN~ENT-TO-GOVERN~ENT, TO WHI~H AB ASIMOV AGREED, SAYING JHESE MATTERS ARE MORE EASILY ARRANGED THROUGH PRIVATE AGENCIES. HE SUGGESTED THAT IN ruLTURAL AND SPORT EXCHANGES, A CITY-TO-CITY ARRANGEMF.NT' sur.H AS rwiosr.01.1 
TO  BERLIN,  WOULD  BE  DESIRABLE.  BRANDT  SAID  HE  WOULD  orsruss  
THESE  THOUGHTS  WITH  THOSE  IN  BERLIN  RESPONSI BLE  FOR  SUCH  MATTF.RS.  
GP-3  DAY  
BT  

(#) Possible omission -correction to follow. 
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