Letter recounting a meeting between the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and the British Foreign Secretary regarding NATO’s weapons development. Nuclear weapons should never be employed unless absolutely necessary and instead serve as an intimidation tactic to deter Soviet aggression. The necessity of increasing NATO’s arsenal of conventional weapons to match that of the Soviets was also stressed.

Evaluation of vulnerability to Soviet aggression due to Italy’s geographic location (the middle of the Mediterranean Ocean) and political position (mostly communist). Reporting on the decision to increase nuclear weapons as well as bolster the air force in order to protect Italy and surrounding Mediterranean countries, which becomes essential considering the Soviet Union has made open threats directed at Europe and NATO.

Italian Ambassador to Moscow, Romano, shares his reflections on the change in Soviet SDI strategy. Romano's analysis underlines the politically fragile and potentially dangerous situation that could emerge as the result of nuclear disarmament in Europe.

This document summarizes Ambassador Nitze's speech on the issue of security and disarmament, and provides a rather detailed description of current U.S. position vis-à-vis the USSR in the field of disarmament and global security.

A comprehensive analysis of the Soviet position in the upcoming disarmament negotiations regarding SDI, FNI, MBFR, and chemical weapons. Overall, there seems to be increased willingness on the Soviet side to free up economic resources from military sector.

This note by the Italian Foreign Ministry provides an overview of issues to be discussed with Secretary General Lord Carrington during his visit to Rome. Of particular interest are the upcoming Geneva negotiations between the USSR and the US regarding SDI .

Brief note about the current position of Italy vis-a-vis Libya. Although state-supported terrorism in Libya should be fought, it is important to avoid escalating the antagonistic sentiments and pushing Libya to align with the USSR.

The telegram decribes West Germany's reactions on Gorbachev's December 7, 1988 address at the UN where he announces drastic changes in Soviet foreign and security policy.

An analysis of the state of East-West relations. The document covers US-USSR relations, CSCE, euro-Soviet relations, and USSR internal developments.

The permanent representative of Italy to NATO offers a summary of the discussion among the NATO members that followed Secretary of State Shultz's briefing. There is a consensus among the member states of the positive effects of the INF treaty to international security.