May 15, 1981
Notes on Meeting between South African Minister of Foreign Affairs R. F. Botha and US President Reagan
This document was made possible with support from Carnegie Corporation of New York (CCNY)
South African Minister of Foreign Affairs "Pik" Botha and President Reagan meet in Washington, DC. South African Ambassador Sole, the note taker, interprets Reagan's friendly opening comments as "the inference clearly being that he had no illusions about democratic rule in Africa." They discuss the situation in Namibia and Angola, and their shared opposition to Soviet and communist influence in the region. Botha also asks Reagan to help South Africa's souring relations with France regarding nuclear cooperation. Botha states that "South Africa was not preparing or intending to explode a nuclear device, but[...] could not afford publicly to surrender this option."
Associated Places
Associated Topics
Subjects Discussed
- Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (1968)
- National liberation movements--Africa
- Angola--History--Civil War, 1975-2002
- Nuclear weapons--Testing
- South Africa--Foreign relations--United States
- Nuclear weapons--South Africa
- France--Foreign relations--South Africa
- Nuclear energy--South Africa
- Apartheid
- National liberation movements--Namibia
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Source
Original Archive
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