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MIN 17
174
M7
Mu faki W. Shand A funest
Mr Mory's 12/7
Miss Sampletdes 5/7
MEETING BETWEEN SECRETARY OF STATE AND JOINT US SENATE/CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION TO THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS OF THE BRITISH AMERICAN PARLIAMENTARY GROUP (BAPG): INDIA OFFICE COUNCIL CHAMBER AT 1000 ON 1 JULY
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1. The Secretary of State welcomed Speaker Foley and other Senators and Congressmen (list attached) visiting London for the BAPG 50th Anniversary. Senator Byrd was absent because his wife had been taken ill (in London).
2.
Discussion covered the following:
Yugoslavia
3. The Secretary of State briefed the delegation on discussion at the EC Summit meeting in Luxembourg on 29/30 June. He saw no great difference between the US and EC positions. No-one believed that Yugoslavia could hold together with tanks and guns: but the danger of vendettas between republics could lead to killing along Lebanese lines. The Secretary of State sympathised with the US emphasis on unity but this could not be achieved through the barrel of a gun. The EC had sent the Troika to get the Army back to barracks and calm the situation, but the Yugoslavs had to solve their own problems. There was potentially the same problem on a bigger scale with the Soviet Union, and implications for Czechoslovakia. The problem of nationalism had been solved in Western Europe, but not yet in the East. Speaker Foley said he shared the Secretary of State's concern for the break-up of Yugoslavia and welcomed the Troika initiative.
Iraq/Kurds
4.
The Secretary of State emphasised that we would not pull out of Iraq only to have the Kurds go back to the mountains in the face of renewed threats from Saddam Hussein. Again there was little difference between our position and that of the US; we needed to build up the UN presence and send a clear signal to Saddam Hussein.
China and Hong Kong
5. The Secretary of State emphasised that the problem of Hong Kong would loom very large over the next six years. Hong Kong must remain capitalist with free speech and all the other elements which had made it successful, less the Union Jack. The Secretary of State foresaw some difficult discussions with the Chinese over the issue - for example over the site of a new airport. It was important that Hong Kong should be the gateway to trade for China; the removal of MFN status for China would be a very serious blow to Hong Kong.
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