740.00119 (Potsdam)/7–3145
No. 1395
The Ambassador in France
(Caffery) to the French
Minister of Foreign Affairs (Bidault)
No. 533
Paris, July 31, 1945.
Excellency: Acting under instructions from my
Government, I have the honor to transmit an invitation on behalf of my
Government to the Government of France to participate in the Council of
Foreign Ministers of the Five Great Powers.
Your Excellency will note that my Government attaches much importance to
the participation of the French Government in the proposed arrangements
and hopes to receive an early and favorable reply to this
invitation.
I avail myself [etc.]
[Enclosure]
The Governments of the United Kingdom, the United States and the U.
S. S. R. consider it necessary to begin without delay the essential
preparatory work upon the peace settlements in Europe. To this end
they are agreed that there should be established a Council of the
Foreign Ministers of the Five Great Powers to prepare treaties of
peace with the European enemy States, for submission to the United
Nations. The Council would also be empowered to propose settlements
of outstanding territorial questions in Europe and to consider such
other matters as member Governments might agree to refer to it.
The text adopted by the Three Governments is as follows: [Here
follows the text of the attachment to document
No. 714.]
In agreement with the Governments of the United Kingdom and U. S. S.
R. the United States Government extends a cordial invitation to the
Government of France to adopt the text quoted above and to join in
setting up the Council. The United States Government attaches much
importance to the participation of the French Government [Page 1544] in the proposed
arrangements and it hopes to receive an early and favorable reply to
this invitation.
The three governments also considered the position of the European
Advisory Commission in the light of the agreement to establish the
Council of Foreign Ministers. It was noted with satisfaction that
the Commission had ably discharged its principal task by the
recommendations that it had furnished for the terms of surrender for
Germany, for the zones of occupation in Germany and Austria and for
the Inter Allied Control machinery in those countries. It was felt
that further work of a detailed character for the coordination of
allied policy for the control of Germany and Austria would in future
fall within the competence of the Allied Control Commission at
Berlin and the Allied Commission at Vienna. Accordingly, the three
governments have agreed to recommend to the French government that
the Commission might now be dissolved.
