740.00119 Council/11–2845
The British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Bevin) to the Secretary of State 35
I have been thinking over our exchange of views of yesterday.
Anxious as I am to resolve the kind of deadlock that has persisted since the failure of the Council of Foreign Ministers in London I [Page 586] continue to have misgivings about the way in which you propose to handle it.
I feel very strongly that a Conference is most unlikely to be successful without adequate preparation and especially with a time limit imposed upon us.
As regards procedure we ought, as I suggested to you yesterday, to be very careful.
Further, is it wise after all that has happened to revert to meetings of three only? If Far East questions are on your agenda I do not see how we can exclude China, and France as we know makes all the more trouble about questions in which she feels that she has a direct concern if she has no part in the initial decisions. I know that there was agreement at Yalta about meetings of the Three, but would not such a meeting on the eve of the United Nations Assembly give rise to all the old suspicions and discontent? Had we not better get on to the United Nations basis as soon as possible?
I agree with you that before the meeting of the United Nations, you and we and the Canadian Government should try to reach agreement amongst ourselves in the first place on the method of dealing in the United Nations Organisation with the Washington proposals on atomic energy and should then advise the other permanent members of the Security Council of our proposals. Before our exchange of views yesterday I had already telegraphed Lord Halifax instructing him to put certain suggestions to you on this point. I should hope through ordinary diplomatic channel we might with no great difficulty reach agreement on this. And as the proposals emanate from us it would be well to have agreement and our minds clear before discussing between others.
I had hoped the Assembly of the United Nations would have brought about in the normal course a meeting of Foreign Ministers here and would have afforded us an opportunity of getting together on all questions that cause us difficulty.
During the meeting of the United Nations, if you and Molotov and others were here there should be ample opportunity, as there usually is, for informal discussion without arousing suspicion.
I have talked this over with the Prime Minister (though not with the Cabinet.) We are both anxious to help but anxious not to fail.
I beg you to consider this alternative.