In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

476 Document No. 67: Record of Third Conversation between Mikhail gorbachev and Helmut Kohl June 14, 1989 Friendship blooms as Kohl says to Gorbachev, “I am telling you once again that I like your policy, and I like you as a person.” In turn, Gorbachev reveals to Kohl his worries about America: he has intelligence that a “special group” is now “charged with discrediting perestroika and me personally.” According to various sources, including former CIA Director William Webster (in a 1999 speech at Texas A&M University), the White House did form a highly secret contingency group to look at the possibility of a collapse of the Soviet Union, or of Gorbachev’s own ouster (secret because disclosing it publicly might help make it so). But most U.S. accounts describe the group as having started much later, in September 1989, and been coordinated by the NSC’s Condoleezza Rice. Kohl’s response here, like the later American versions, also suggests the group’s role was to monitor rather than to undermine . Most striking here is how candid the Kohl and Gorbachev assessments are of events in other countries, compared to Soviet Politburo discussions and certainly to the stilted presentations of the “fraternal” parties. Moreover, Kohl and Gorbachev actually agree on what they think about Jaruzelski, Ceauşescu, and the Hungarians, for example. Kohl continues to assure Gorbachev that the FRG will do nothing to destabilize the situation in Eastern Europe. At the same time, taking advantage of their new close relationship, he complains for the first time about Honecker’s policies in the GDR, and Gorbachev seems receptive to his views. Of course, the Soviet leader is weighing his reactions based in part on the financial power of West Germany which gives it immense influence regarding Eastern Europe. As an interesting aside to the fate of Yugoslavia, Kohl suggests to Gorbachev that “we need to think about how to prevent the Balkans from becoming a source of destabilization .” The talks end with a joint declaration by the two leaders that, according to Chernyaev, “de facto began the process of reunification of Germany.” 61 […] Kohl: We would like to see your visit, Mr. gorbachev, as the end of hostilities between Russians and germans, as the beginning of a period of genuinely friendly, good neighborly relations. You understand that these are words supported by the will of all the people, by the will of the people who greet you in the streets and the squares. As chancellor, I join this expression of the people’s will with pleasure, and I tell you once again that I like your policy, and I like you as a person. 61 Chernyaev, Shest’Let s Gorbachevym, 291. Melyakova book.indb 476 2010.04.12. 16:20 477 Gorbachev: Thank you for such warm words. They are very touching. I will respond equally, and I will try not to disappoint you. I would like to tell you the following with all sincerity. According to our information, there is a special group that was created in the National Security Council of the United States charged with discrediting perestroika and me personally . When Baker was in Moscow, we openly asked him about that. He and his colleagues were somewhat confused and did not give us a clear answer; they only tried to convince us that it was not so. However, I have some evidence that such a group does, in fact, exist. I think you understand me well, Mr. Federal Chancellor; you understand how I feel about it. Kohl: Thank you for your openness. I have heard nothing about such a group. Even if it does exist, I do not think it was created at george Bush’s initiative, or that it was charged with the tasks you have just formulated. Maybe if it exists it has some kind of monitoring functions, but not subversive ones. […] Kohl: Now a couple of words about our mutual friends. I will tell you directly that Erich Honecker concerns me a great deal. His wife has just made a statement in which she called on the gDR youth to take up arms and, if necessary, defend the achievements of socialism from external enemies. It is clear that she implied that the socialist countries which implement reforms, stimulate democratic processes , and follow their own original road are the enemies. Primarily, she had Poland and Hungary in mind. This is certainly a strange statement. Gorbachev: What are your relations with Poland like? Kohl: The country is...

Share