_ _ -- 1' ' f' ' MEMORANDUM OF CONVERSATION SUBJECT DATE TIP E PLACE PANAMA CANAL TREATY TELEPHONE CALL FROM PRESIDENT CARTER TO GENERAL OMAR TORRIJOS - · · August 24 1977 The Oval Office The White House 4 05 pm PARTICIPANTS The United States Panama The President General Omar Torrijos Head of State THE PRESIDENT We are very eager to have the treaty ratified by the Senate It would help very much if you and I under the auspices of the OAS invited the Heads of State of the continent to witness the treaty signing ceremonies j TORRIJOS I agree I am ready to cooperate in any manner that is necessary to insure that the treaty is ratified as soon as possible There is a problem however It is my feeling that if the DAS were to issue the invitations fewer Presidents would be likely to attend the signing ceremonies than if if it were the White House that would extend the invitations • THE PRESIDENT General I am interested in having as many Presidents as possible from Central and South America If you and I jointly extend an invitation and follow it up with personal messages to the Heads of State I think we would achieve the greatest participation I am planning to meet first with you regarding the treaty and how it effects us and also how it effects you in Panama Then I also want to meet with the leaders of the other countries It would consist of two steps first a formal invitation extended together by you and me and second personal invitations to the Heads of State that we would individually extend For example we would be needing your help in encouraging Lopez Portillo of Mexico to attend TDRRIJOS Now it is clear to me what you propose to do I think it is an excellent idea I know that between both of us we will get the largest number of Presidents of Latin America to attend It is important though that while the rest of them dec ide on coming that the first statements to the press be made in the sense that a number of Presidents have already been contacted and they have assured us they will attend Then we would see lhat the other Presidents would do because it would be in their own interests to communicate their decisions DECLASSIFIED 12356 Sec 3 4 FER BY HE NARS c- l'Q - 2 3 f I j Page Two of Memcon Carter Torrijos Telcon 8 24 77 THE PRESIDENT Very good I think it would be advantageous if we were to keep expectations low regarding the number that would attend so that the public would be more surprised at the number in attendance I am sure that if we stated that twenty Presidents were to come and only 14 showed up in Washington D C the next day the headlines would read SIX PRESIDENTS REFUSE TO GO TO WASHINGTON D C On the other hand if the expectations are kept low and 14 Presidents and 6 Foreign Ministers attend the ceremonies the press and media would focus on that in a positive manner Therefore I feel that public statements should be of such a nature as to maintain expectations low so that with the large number in attendance public opinion would be favorably impressed TORRIJOS I completely agree with you I believe that there is a political feeling in Latin America and it might be the case with you also whereby the number of Presidents attending might be thought of in terms of the goals scored in a soccer match It will be good to keep expectations low in statements to the press I do have a question though That is how many have already confirmed their acceptances THE PRESIDENT First let me say that I do not know yet I believe about six have already made definite plans However - they have been somewhat hesitant because the formal invitations have not been extended yet and no official date has been set yet However now that you and I have agreed I will undertake to make a maximum' effort to contact directly the Presidents inviting them to witness the ceremony of the signing of the treaty as well as to come to Washington to conduct other business We are also preparing a banquet at the White House on the 7th of September after the signing of the treaty which I believe will provide a delightful end to that day During the tW9 days thereafter we will have a chance to follow up in our talks with the various Heads of State present At this ppint I think we have good indications that eight Heads of State will be coming We will keep your Ambassador informed of the responses we get and you could do the same with our Ambassador regarding those leaders that you talk to who indicate that they will be attending the treaty signature TORRIJOS Fine I think it is important that you make a statement in the sense that certain leaders without specifying their numbers have been invited and will attend and that you announce the date I have a suggestion to make also That we invite Canada Prime Minister Trudeau enjoys great popularity in Latin America f • t Page Three of Memcon Carter Torrijos Telcon 8 24 77 THE PRESIDENT Yes it would be a great pleasure to do so He also enjoys great popularity in the United States and I believe he should be included We feel that this is so important that it be publicized throughout the country to the people that we are to have the ceremony covered on live television in our country We have not approached the networks yet but the possibility exists I would like to know whether you would have any objection to this TORRIJOS Absolutely no objection The moment is of great significance for the Americas and I think it would be very advantageous to provide for TV coverage throughout the Continent THE PRESIDENT I would like to suggest that some key White House staffers go to Panama with your Ambassador to arrange the details with you TORRIJOS That would be fine THE PRESIDENT To conclude I want to tell you that I • greatly appreciate the spirit of cooperation that has been shown by your Negotiators and by you My wife and I are looking forward to your visit to the White House Rosalyn was delighted with ·the complimentary remarks that you made while she was on her trip of Central and South America TORRIJOS Thank you President Carter I want to tell you that you have shown great moral courage by the way you have faced the problems at hand It was only with great moral courage that our ends could be achieved THE PRESIDENT I am proud of the progress we have made There are a number of things that you and the leaders of Latin America can do to help us and we are also eager to help you get your prople to approve the treaty I hope your visit will allow us to establish ties of personal friendship and understanding that will assure the approval in the Senate and by the people of Panama It is very important that our citizens know that you and I have consulted and are ready to cooperate in the future TORRIJOS I agree Thank you very much Mr President Conversation ended at 4 30 pm Drafted by Anthony J Hervas Interpreter cl