TNAG-1251-FCO40-1584-Third-countries-and-the-future-of-Hong-Kong-1983 — Page 54

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CONFIDENTIAL

DSR 11C

VISIT OF THE AMERICAN VICE PRESIDENT : 9/10 FEBRUARY

STEERING BRIEF

!

1. Vice President Bush comes to London at the end

of a European tour which takes in Bonn, Berlin, the

Hague, Brussels (for meetings with NATO, the EEC and

the Belgian Government), Geneva (to address the

Committee for Disarmament and to meet Soviet negotiators

in the arms control talks) Rome and Paris. The programme

for his visit to London is at Annex A together with

that for Mrs Bush

了

Objectives

2. The visit comes at an important time for the

Alliance. It takes place against a background of some

uncertainty about the prospects for the Reagan

Administration, the growing debate over nuclear

disarmament

particularly important in the context

}

of the German elections, and Soviet initiatives aimed at driving

which seem intended-to-drive a wedge between Europe

and the US. Mr Bush has been briefed by the

President to focus on defence/disarmament issues. In

a public statement on the eve of his departure from

Washington he said his purpose was to convince thepeople

of Western Europe that President Reagan was serious

about arms control. This was presumably

behind the 'open letter' from President

what lay

Reagan on INF

CONFIDENTIAL ·

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