3. Comrade Erich Honecker’s assertive manner contributed decisively to the comprehensive and convincing presentation of the policies of the socialist German state and the [other] socialist states on the issues of peace, disarmament, and détente. He also strengthened the position of the realistic forces within the ruling circles of the FRG, promoting a coalition of reason and realism, and he reinforced the process of differentiation within the government coalition, extending into the CDU/CSU.
The German Communist Party, the peace movement, and all democratic, peace-loving forces in the FRG were supported. The visit positively influenced support for the policies of the SPD.
4. Comrade Erich Honecker set the focus of the visit on the shared view that war should never again be waged from German soil, instead only peace. He stressed that both German states had a responsibility to work actively toward peace, disarmament, and détente, according to the principle of equality and equal security. The GDR and the FRG had to make an important contribution in order to advance disarmament and promote peaceful cooperation in Europe, according to Comrade Honecker, for only in this way would they fulfill their joint responsibility to peace. Federal Chancellor Kohl had to agree.
Comrade Erich Honecker focused on the necessity of concluding an agreement on the global elimination of intermediate-range missiles as a starting point for nuclear disarmament. He introduced the proposals to create a nuclear-free corridor in central Europe and a chemical- weapon-free zone in Europe.
It was underscored that relations between the GDR and the FRG cannot be uncoupled from international developments and that both states must have an active and positive impact on them. For the GDR, peace is and remains the major overriding issue, also as regards bilateral relations.
Federal Chancellor Kohl could not avoid emphasizing the will of the FRG to contribute to disarmament and détente and confirming his support for the global double-zero option with respect to intermediate-range missiles. Even before the visit, he was forced to make a statement on the destruction of the Pershing I-A missiles. The agreement in support of the global double-zero option by both German states is a decisive outcome of Comrade Erich Honecker’s visit to the FRG.
5. Both sides affirmed the Basic Treaty and the Joint Declaration of March 12, 1985, between Erich Honecker and Helmut Kohl as the basis for their relations.
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