Office of the Historian

740.00119 Control (Germany)/8–445: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the United States Political Adviser for Germany (Murphy), at Berlin

Washington, August 13, 1945—5 p.m.

274. Your 255 Aug 4.3 Question of organization of international waterway regimes was considered at the Potsdam Conference4 and it was agreed that these matters would be referred to the Council of Foreign Ministers in London.5 Consequently, plans for Interim Navigation Agency and the re-establishment of permanent agency will be considered by that group rather than Control Council.

Dept believes interim waterway agency should be established and that it is premature to consider re-establishment of former river commission and to define its responsibilities and voting control.

While Dept would welcome views and suggestions of the US group CC relating to interim or permanent river commissions no agreements or decisions on these questions should be made by the control authorities which would prejudice the work of the Council of Foreign Ministers. The immediate problems of coordinating traffic on the Rhine could be handled through the Combined Transport Board (your despatch 581 July 73) and ECITO.

Byrnes
  1. Not printed.↩
  2. See Foreign Relations, The Conference of Berlin (The Potsdam Conference) vol. ii, index entries under European questions, general: Inland waterways, p. 1612.↩
  3. For documentation relating to the Council of Foreign Ministers in London, September 11–October 2, 1945, see pp. 99 ff.↩
  4. Not printed.↩