500.CC/5–845
Memorandum by Mr. Charles E. Bohlen, Member of the United States Delegation, of a Conversation Held at San Francisco, May 8, 1945, 8:30 p.m.
| Present: | The Secretary |
| Mr. Molotov | |
| Mr. Dunn | |
| Ambassador Harriman | |
| Mr. Pavlov | |
| Mr. Bohlen |
The Secretary expressed his great regret at Mr. Molotov’s forthcoming departure and his appreciation for the cooperative spirit of their work together here at the Conference.
Mr. Molotov warmly thanked the Secretary, and through him, the American Government for all the hospitality and friendly treatment he had received during his stay in the United States.
The Secretary thanked Mr. Molotov for the picture which he had received this afternoon and presented Mr. Molotov with one of himself in return, also a salad bowl made from redwood which Mr. Molotov [Page 651] accepted with deep appreciation. He then said that despite the departure of Mr. Molotov, he hoped it would be possible to communicate with him for purposes of consultation, since, although they had reached a large measure of agreements already, there were bound to be questions put forward by other countries which would require careful consideration by the sponsoring powers.
Mr. Molotov said, of course, such consultations should continue and he was leaving as his deputy, Ambassador Gromyko who was thoroughly familiar with all the problems at the Conference and of Dumbarton Oaks.
The Secretary said he had in mind questions of the following type which would be raised by other countries. He briefly outlined the following important amendments which had been proposed by other countries:
- 1
- —The French suggestion that recommendations of the Council should be regarded as procedural questions not requiring unanimity of the permanent members—
- 2
- —The Dutch suggestion to move paragraph one of Chapter 8 from Section B to Section A in cases involving threats of aggression or breach of the peace which would mean that the parties to such disputes would not be entitled to vote—
- 3
- —The Latin American countries were proposing that adjustments be made in the section dealing with regional agreements so as to safeguard the inter-American system, i.e. the Act of Chapultepec as had been done in the case of the European treaties.
In regard to the last point, the Secretary said he wished to make it clear that as far as the U.S. Government was concerned, any consideration of the Latin American suggestions would not affect the agreement already reached in regard to treaties directed against enemy states and that the U.S. would fully support the agreement reached on this point.
Mr. Molotov said he felt that the proper course was for the sponsoring powers to defend the agreements in regard to the amendments which they had worked out themselves. He said he felt that points 1 and 2 mentioned by the Secretary were fully covered in the Dumbarton Oaks proposals and in the Crimea decisions. He added that from the Soviet point of view, until agreements were reached, everyone was free to discuss and argue, but that once an agreement was reached, they should all undertake to defend it and in this way insure harmony of action and guarantee the success of the Conference.
Ambassador Harriman pointed out that the views of other countries would have to be heard and there might even be strong pressures for one suggestion or another. He said he felt it would be a mistake for the big powers to give any ground for belief that they were attempting to intimidate the smaller powers.
[Page 652]Mr. Molotov said there was, of course, no question of intimidation, but he felt if an agreement had been reached, those who reached it should endeavor to explain, convince and persuade the other nations as to the common advantage of the agreements reached. After further expression of gratitude for his kind treatment in the United States, Mr. Molotov left, after urging with great sincerity that the Secretary not come down to see him off at the airport.