840.70/7–1445: Telegram
The Acting Secretary of State to the Ambassador in the United Kingdom ( Winant )
5808. For Moats47 and Allison48 from Radius and Taft.49 Dept has received from BritEmb an aide-mémoire 50 in which it is proposed that EIT Conference be reconvened. BritGovt further proposes that they inform SovGovt of the desire to resume the Conference and that they are disposed to invite Provisional Polish Govt to appoint a delegation51 but before doing so BritGovt would welcome an assurance that SovDeleg would participate in work of Conference.
[Page 1406]BritGovt also suggested that Danish and Turkish Govts be invited to reconvened Conference and requested U.S. views on this question. Dept has answered52 Brit aide-mémoire as follows:
“The Department of State agrees with the proposals of His Majesty’s Government as contained in the British Embassy’s Aide-Mémoire of July 11, 1945 that the Soviet Government be informed of the desire of our Governments to reconvene the European Inland Transport Conference as soon as possible. Such communication to the Soviet Government would go on to say that our two Governments are disposed at once to invite the Polish Provisional Government of National Unity to appoint a delegation to the Conference but that before doing so we would welcome assurance that the Soviet Government would participate in the work of the reconvened Conference.
“The Department of State suggests that since the original invitations to the Conference were issued jointly by our two Governments the proposal to the Soviet Government and the invitations reconvening the Conference likewise be joint communications.
“The Department of State does not believe that the Danish and Turkish Governments should be invited to send delegates to the reconvened Conference as this might entail further delay or raise additional questions concerning the participation of other governments. This question should be left for consideration either by the Conference after it is reconvened or by the Council of the Organization after the final agreement has been signed.
“This Government agrees that the Provisional Organization for European Inland Transport should continue its activities until the European Central Inland Transport Organization proper comes into being.”
Please keep in touch with Fonoff on this question and work out with them text of communication to SovGovt and invitations to reconvene Conference.53 Final texts should be cleared with Dept. [Radius and Taft.]
- Helen M. Moats, United States Specialist on Inland Transport.↩
- John Allison, Second Secretary and Consul at London.↩
- Charles P. Taft, Director of the Office of Transport and Communications Policy.↩
- Dated July 11, 1945; for text, see Foreign Relations, The Conference of Berlin (The Potsdam Conference), vol. i, p. 332.↩
- Recognition by the United States was accorded to the Polish Provisional Government of National Unity on July 5, 1945; for documentation relating to the recognition of the new Polish Government, see ibid., pp. 714–789.↩
- July 14, 1945.↩
- The Embassy reported that the Foreign Office suggested that the matter could be more advantageously taken up at the Berlin Conference and that the Foreign Office had instructed its delegation at Berlin to consult with the United States delegation, and if agreeable, to discuss with the Soviet Government the question of reconvening the EIT Conference as part of a larger discussion of Russian cooperation in European economic organizations; see telegram 7236, July 18, 1945, 1 p.m., from London, Conference of Berlin (Potsdam), vol. ii, p. 1158. Subsequently, the Department sent telegram 5808 and the foregoing information to Assistant Secretary of State Clayton at the Potsdam Conference as telegram 61, July 19, 1945, with its approval of the British proposal to discuss with the Soviet authorities the question of reconvening the EIT Conference. See ibid., p. 1159.↩