Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers, 1945, General: Political and Economic Matters, Volume II

740.00119 Council/12–745

Memorandum by the Secretary of State of a Conversation With the French Ambassador (Bonnet)⁶¹

[Washington,] December 7, 1945.

The Secretary telephoned the Ambassador at 6:30 p.m. and requested him to come to the Department. The Secretary apologized for having troubled the Ambassador to come down at 9 o’clock in the morning, at which time he was unable to discuss the matter he had intended to discuss with him. The Secretary remarked that the Ambassador had no doubt by this time received news of the subject, as there had been a misunderstanding about the time of release and the ticker carried the news from London.

The Secretary told the Ambassador he would recall that at Yalta it had been agreed that the three Foreign Ministers would meet every three or four months to discuss current matters in an informal way. They had met in Washington prior to the San Francisco Conference and while at San Francisco, they met at Potsdam in July, again in September at London, and three months had passed since September, so he (the Secretary) had proposed that they meet in Moscow. They would meet on the 15th of December and particularly they would discuss the Atomic Bomb, also the Far Eastern Commission and other matters in the Pacific which are now pending.

The Secretary told the Ambassador he had not received Bevin’s agreement until yesterday as to the date, and that he had hoped to have released the news this morning, but there was a slight change in the announcement⁶² which caused the delay.

The Secretary told the Ambassador he had learned from the ticker news that the Foreign Office in London had advised the French representative there of the plans to meet.

The Secretary said the British are not in favor of discussing at the meeting any matters affecting France, and he believes that will be agreed to.⁶³ The Secretary said there is a question as to whether the peace conference will be discussed. The Secretary recalled his proposal at the Council of Foreign Ministers and said he still hoped the Soviets might change their views. Of course, if this were discussed in Moscow, it would have to be discussed further later. Particularly it was felt that the atomic bomb should be discussed prior to the opening of the UNO, and this is the subject stated in the announcement.

The Ambassador thanked the Secretary for informing him of the meeting and inquired if the announcement would be made this evening, to which the Secretary replied in the affirmative. The Ambassador said he noticed in the news, which came from London, that the German question was mentioned as one of the subjects for discussion at the meeting.

The Secretary replied that this is one of the subjects there is no agreement to discuss, that it is proposed that no matters affecting France and China be discussed without first communicating with them, and this has been agreed to by him and Mr. Bevin. The only reservation he wished to make, the Secretary said, was that he hoped to make some progress on the matter of the peace conference, and one might say that this would affect France, but it would also affect a lot of other nations not represented at the meeting. It is his hope, the Secretary said, that by discussing this matter and reaching some agreement the Council of Foreign Ministers can again meet.

The Ambassador said that his Government had hoped that when future meetings of the Foreign Secretaries were held they would include France and China—the permanent members of the Security Council of UNO. He has had no reaction as yet from his Government on the Moscow meeting, but feels sure they will not be pleased.

The Secretary pointed out that agreement between the US and the Soviet on certain matters would mean progress for other nations also.

The Ambassador inquired if the Secretary saw any possibility of inviting Bidault, that this would be the best solution so far as France is concerned.

The Secretary replied that this is the solution he would like, but that, unfortunately, he saw no such possibility.

61. The substance of this conversation was reported in telegram 5770, December 11, to Paris (740.00119 Council/12–1145). A similar conversation was held by the Secretary with the Chinese Ambassador, Wei-Tao-ming. The memorandum of this conversation states that the Ambassador commented that it was very important to have such a meeting as announced and bring harmony on certain questions. He wished the Secretary all success on the forthcoming meeting. (740.00119 Council/12–745)
62. For the statement regarding the forthcoming meeting of Foreign Secretaries in Moscow, released to the press on December 7, see Department of State Bulletin, December 9, 1945, p. 935.
63. Telegram 13050, December 12, 1945, 9 p.m., from London, reported information from the British Foreign Office that the French reaction to the Moscow Conference had been comparatively mild; Foreign Secretary Bevin’s assurance that the British Government would not commit itself on matters of concern to France had been communicated to Foreign Minister Bidault and had a mollifying effect; from the British point of view, it would have been preferable if some formula could have been devised to include France (740.00119 Council/12–1245).