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The Austrian Ambassador in Helsinki, Pichler, to Foreign Minister Waldheim1

Conversation with the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, N.V. Podgorny

At today’s reception for the heads of mission, hosted by the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet on the occasion of his five-day official state visit to Finland, I had the opportunity to exchange a few words with Mr Podgorny.2 After extremely friendly remarks about his visit to Austria at the time and the very special kindness with which he and his daughter were received there, as well as mentioning that you, Mr Federal Minister, will also be coming to Helsinki shortly, Mr Podgorny turned to the subject of the European Security Conference. He said that the Soviet Union was particularly pleased to note that Austria was the first country to respond positively to the Finnish initiative.3 Based on the election results in the Federal Republic of Germany, he was confident that the planned conference would also yield positive results. The West Germans seem to be politically mature enough to reject right-wing extremism. The talks between Gromyko and Brandt in New York4 were very refreshing, and Moscow had the impression that the future German federal government would reconsider its foreign policy from a new perspective. Brandt seemed to be grounded in reality, moving away from the romantic approach of Kiesinger5 and his predecessors. Everyone can be assured that the Soviet Union wants nothing but peace, both in Vietnam and in the Middle East, and especially, of course, in Europe. Any kind of aggression (!) must be prevented.

Mr Podgorny also said that the SALT talks would begin soon. I repeated Austria’s invitation to hold them in Vienna, to which President Podgorny replied that the location was not the most important thing, but rather the fact that the talks were taking place at all.

Mr Podgorny also touched on the bilateral political and economic relations between Austria and the Soviet Union, which he described as good and friendly. He considers the agreement on natural gas supplies, which was concluded so quickly6 – in contrast to the subsequent talks with Italy, which are constantly encountering new difficulties – to be advantageous for both sides.

Finally, the Soviet President asked me to convey his best regards to Federal President7 and Federal Chancellor.8 I would ask you, Federal Minister, to pass these on accordingly.9