The unification of Germany is at present impossible because of the irreconcilable interests of the United States and the Soviet Union. The Berlin issue, as it was raised by Khrushchev in November 1958, is the symbolic manifestation of the real issue which has separated the United States and the Soviet Union since the beginning of the cold war, that is, the permanence and legitimacy of the territorial status quo in Europe. The substance of the Berlin issue, by virtue of its symbolic character, is not negotiable, while the modalities of the Western presence in Berlin are. The Western presence in the former capital of a unified Germany symbolizes the provisional character of the division of Germany; by negotiating about its right to be in Berlin, the West would put into question the right itself and, with it, the provisional character of the division of Germany. The Western position is endangered by the Russian advantage of being able to satisfy the German national aspirations whenever it wishes by uniting Germany and restoring its eastern provinces to German rule. It is therefore imperative for the West to reconcile itself to the continuing division of Germany, while at the same time convincing the Germans that their hope to see their country united on tolerable terms lies in co-operation with the West.
