500 CC(PC)/9–745: Telegram
The United States Representative on the Preparatory Commission ( Stettinius ) to the Acting Secretary of State
[Received September 7—8:45 p.m.]
9207. Copre 70. Ambassador Gromyko called on me September 5 to discuss the work of the Executive Committee. I proposed that we should speed up the work of the Executive Committee and outlined to him our proposal for holding an organizing meeting of the Assembly around the middle of November.
The Ambassador’s reaction was favorable. He thought the work here had dragged and that the committees were attempting to go into too much detail. He felt there was no reason why the work could not be speeded up and finished in a few weeks and that the Preparatory Commission should take no longer than 5 or 6 days.
He did not commit himself regarding a meeting of the Assembly immediately following the Preparatory Commission. He agreed to the idea of an organizing meeting of the Assembly. He also agreed that the Security Council should get to work in January and that a full dress plenary session of the Assembly should be held next spring.
He stated that his Govt had not changed their position regarding the permanent location and that if we proposed that it should be in the US, the Soviet Union would endorse our proposal. I explained to him that we were not seeking the site within the US but that if the majority of the United Nations desired it to be there we were ready to extend an invitation. He felt sure that the majority of the United Nations would prefer to settle in the US and highly praised San Francisco. I attempted to find out whether the Soviets would object to returning to Geneva. The Ambassador avoided any definite statement but he implied that the Soviets did not favor Geneva.
He was concerned that there have been no 5 power conversations here. I told him I had discussed this with Bevin and Noel-Baker and that they now agreed that informal exchanges of views among the Big Five would be satisfactory from time to time. He was pleased.
Ambassador Koo and I had dinner together on Sept. 6. I explained to him in some detail our proposed program for holding an organizing meeting of the General Assembly and a full dress plenary meeting next [Page 1445] spring. He agreed wholeheartedly with the proposal and said he would back me up in the Executive Committee. He thought that if we decided to have only an organizing meeting of the Assembly this fall there should be no difficulty in speeding up the work of the Executive Committee and the Preparatory Commission so that we should be ready by the middle of November. On the matter of permanent location he said that his Govt was strongly in favor of the US and would be very pleased if San Francisco were chosen.