Documents / FOIA release
This is the Central Intelligence Agency's Current Intelligence Weekly Summary of 23 March 1962, a secret digest from the Office of Current Intelligence covering world events. It reviews Soviet foreign policy on Berlin, the Berlin air corridors, disarmament and a nuclear test ban. It also covers Algeria, Argentina's elections, the Congo, Laos, South Vietnam, Guatemala, food rationing in Cuba and Middle East tensions. Special articles assess Brazil under Goulart and Turkey's economic prospects. It contains no UFO material.
Approved for Release: 2026/03/06 C03176167 A-\ “Q ' /saeRET/ CURRENT INTELLIGENCE WEEKLY SUMMARY WEEKLY REVIEW SOVIET FOREIGN POLICY DEVELOPMENTS Moscow appears to view the Gromyko-Rusk talks in Geneva as a point of departure for more comprehensive negotiations on Berlin which could culminate in a heads-of-government meet- ing. The moderate tone of Khru- shchev's remarks on Berlin and Germany in his 16 March speech was intended to reassure the West that Moscow is still interested in a negotiated settlement. The Soviets have indicated that their future actions in the Berlin air cor- ridors will be influenced by developments in the US-Soviet talks and have relaxed pressures in the corridors somewhat since 17 March. Gromyko’s relatively mild presentation of the USSR's disarmament proposals in the 17-nation Geneva conference and Soviet acceptance of the proposal by the US and Britain for three-power talks on a nuclear test ban were also cal- culated to improve the atmos- phere for bilateral discussions with the US. Berlin and Germany In Khrushchev's l6 March speech--a pre-election address delivered at the Kremlin to his Kalinin constituents and his first major speech on foreign policy since the party congress last fall--he again indicated a willingness to work out an agree- ment with the West on the status of West Berlin and Allied access which would be incorporated in a separate peace treaty with East Germany. He also reiter- ated that there is no "fatal deadline" for the conclusion of such a treaty and sought to convey an impression of restraint by declining to comment on the current US-Soviet talks. He em- phasized, however, that a Ber- lin settlement must include not only guarantees for Allied ac- cess but also "recognition and respect for the sovereign rights of the German Democratic Repub- lic." The Soviet press continues to give increased prominence to Soviet determination to conclude a peace treaty with East Germany while accusing the West of stall- ing on serious negotiations. In letters to President De Gaulle and Prime Minister Macmillan, delivered on 14 March, Khrushchev also reaffirmed his proposal for a prior four-power agreement for inclusion in a sub- sequent Soviet peace treaty with East Germany. It would cover the status of West Berlin, free access, and other "important postwar problems"--such as for- malizing existing German fron- tiers and prohibiting nuclear weapons in both German states.- Here again, he emphasized that access arrangements must respect East German "sovereignty." He warned that if the West rejects an agreement, the USSR will proceed with a separate treaty. Air Corridors As part of their effort to maintain the sense of urgency for negotiating a Berlin settle- ment, the Soviets have continued their harassing tactics in the Berlin air corridors. On l5 March, shortly after six Soviet transport flights in the south- ern corridor had been completed as scheduled, the USSR protested that Western aircraft had "de- liberately violated established flight procedures" and "endan- gered air safety in the corri- dors." The protest reflected Moscow’s immediate intention 23 Mar 62 WEEKLY REVIEW Page l of 22 Approved for Release: 2026/03/06 C03176167
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FOIA release, from the cia-readingroom collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 42 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.