800.796/489
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Assistant Secretary of State (Berle)
M. Hoppenot8 came in to see me at his request. He observed that La Tournelle,9 last July, had extracted a promise from me to keep them generally informed about post-war civil aviation matters; that they had recently received reports about the probability of an Anglo-American Conference on Civil Aviation. In such case, the French Committee wanted to send an observer.
I said that I had told La Tournelle that I would keep him generally informed, but that the question, as raised, was premature. It was true that an imperial consultation was being held in Britain to discuss post-war aviation policy, and that we had been discussing the matter here. It was also true that mention had been made of a conference between our two countries; but that neither the fact, the form, nor the date had yet been decided. Undoubtedly discussions would take place sometime because of the many problems of mutual interest which had to be resolved, but I could not say whether it would be an Anglo-American conference, or a more general conference, or when it would take place. We would bear in mind the request.