Eisenhower Briefs Republican Senators on the Paris Summit, the U-2 Incident, and Cold War Foreign Policy (1960)

Date: May 11, 1960

Original or Replica: Original

Era: The Cold War, The Presidency

Collection: Eisenhower Presidential Library

Citations: DDE’s Papers as President, DDE Diary Series, Box 50, Staff Notes May 1960 (2); NAID #12010067

This May 11, 1960 memorandum records President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s breakfast meeting with Republican senators shortly before the upcoming Paris Summit. Eisenhower cautioned against expecting major breakthroughs but hoped the United States, Soviet Union, Britain, and France could make progress on disarmament, nuclear test inspections, and investigations of underground nuclear explosions. He also discussed the practical difficulties of summit diplomacy and the possibility that he might briefly return to Washington during the negotiations.

The senators questioned Eisenhower about Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, the recent U-2 Incident, and relations among America’s allies. Eisenhower believed Khrushchev was too knowledgeable to think the downed U-2 flight was the first American reconnaissance mission over Soviet territory and described him as a powerful leader within the Soviet system. Eisenhower also discussed his relationships with Charles de Gaulle, Konrad Adenauer, and Harold Macmillan. The conversation expanded to broader Cold War issues, including the changing nature of diplomacy, intelligence gathering, Cuba, Turkey, Korea, and Soviet military leadership. The memorandum provides insight into Eisenhower’s expectations for the Paris Summit and his assessment of international affairs only days before the summit collapsed over the U-2 controversy.