Office of the Historian

857h.01/26a

The Department of State to the French Embassy6

undated

Proposed Draft of Agreement Relative to the Adhesion of the Régime Known as the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics to the Spitzbergen Treaty

The Governments of the United States of America, the British Empire, Denmark, France, Italy, Japan, Norway, the Netherlands, and Sweden, signatories to the Treaty concluded in Paris on February 9, 1920, concerning Spitzbergen, having found that some of them are recognizing the régime now functioning in Russia and known as the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics and that those who do not recognize that régime are, under the following conditions, not opposed to the adherence of that regime to that Treaty,

Have agreed that, notwithstanding the stipulation in the first paragraph of Article 10, to permit the régime known as the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics to adhere to the said Treaty, even though all of the High Contracting Parties may not have recognized [Page 6] that régime, on condition and with the definite understanding that the absence of objection to such adherence, on the part of the United States of America or of any other High Contracting Party shall not be construed by any party to said Treaty or to this Agreement or by the said régime known as the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics as constituting the recognition thereof by any High Contracting Party which has not recognized that régime.

The present Agreement shall be ratified by all of the High Contracting Parties. Each High Contracting Party shall in the shortest possible time send its ratification to the French Government which will see to its being notified to His Majesty the King of Norway and to the other High Contracting Parties. The ratifications shall remain on deposit in the Archives of the French Government. The present Agreement shall go into effect for each High Contracting Party on the date of the deposit of its instrument of ratification.

Done at Paris . . . . . 1924, in duplicate originals, one of which will be transmitted to the Government of His Majesty the King of Norway, and the other deposited in the Archives of the Government of the French Republic, by which Government an authenticated copy thereof will be delivered to each of the other High Contracting Parties signatory to the said Treaty of February 9, 1920, or an adherent thereto.

  1. Copy handed to the French Chargé by the Under Secretary of State, July 15, 1924.↩