Dear Harold: In my talks with President de Gaulle, we agreed on arrangements for our meetings at Paris consistent with the suggestions which you outlined in your letter to me of April 8.1 As you are aware, the details of these arrangements were also discussed between Secretary Herter and Foreign Ministers Lloyd and Couve de Murville, who I understand will again review this matter during their meetings at Istanbul.2
If at all possible, we hope to dispense with an opening plenary session and to aim at holding our first Summit meeting at the Elysee Palace on Monday, May 16 at 10:00 a.m. It is our expectation that this would be a short meeting, lasting perhaps
an hour, restricted to the Heads of Government and devoted primarily to a discussion of procedural matters if that can be arranged. Immediately thereafter we would be joined by our Foreign Ministers.
We hope that subsequent meetings would take place each day at the same time and place and that we would be joined in these restricted meetings by our Foreign Ministers and two officials from each delegation who would be responsible for interpretation and note taking.
The question of interpretation which you raised in your letter was discussed between Secretary Herter, Foreign Minister Couve de Murville and Lord Hood of your Embassy here. I understand that a report on this subject has been forwarded to London by your Embassy.3
President de Gaulle, in his role as host, plans to write to Mr. Khrushchev outlining our proposals for Summit arrangements.4
I am reassured by our various exchanges that we are going into the Summit conference with substantial unity on our basic Western positions.5
With warm personal regard, As ever
