840.50/5–1745
The Chargé of the Soviet Union ( Novikov ) to the Secretary of State
Sir: In connection with the aide-mémoire of the Department of State of May 896 I have the honor to communicate, on instructions of the Soviet Government, the following:
With the agreement of the governments of the U.S.S.R., Great Britain, the U.S.A. and France there was called in London a conference [Page 1450] of an exploratory character which was supposed to consider questions relating to the suitability of creating a European Economic Committee and a European Coal Organization.
Agreeing to the calling of this conference, the Soviet Government had in view that the reports prepared by the participants in the conference would be presented to the governments, concerned for study, after which a conference would be called for the ratification of the statutes of these economic organs and of the basic regulations fixing the sphere of their competence and their practical operation.
With the purpose of creating favorable conditions for the work of the conference on the establishment of the organs named, the Soviet delegation at the London Conference took an active part in the preparation of a memorandum on the character of the future activity of the European Coal Organization. However, the series of important proposals of the Soviet delegation did not encounter support on the part of the other delegations. In particular, the proposal of the Soviet delegation in regard to the fixing of the limits of the functions of the European Coal Organization and the Allied Control Commission in Germany97 in relation to the distribution of German coal was not accepted by the other delegations.
The Soviet Government considers that the distribution of German coal should be exclusively within the competence of the Allied Control Commission and, consequently, the European Coal Organization can devote itself to questions of the distribution of surpluses of German coal, in which connection, the size of these surpluses should be determined by the Allied Control Commission.
In connection with the fact that differences on a series of questions arose at the London Conference, the Soviet Government proposed that these differences should be adjusted either at that same conference or through diplomatic channels. However, instead of such a singularly suitable procedure for resolving the differences, the government of Great Britain considered it practicable to call a conference for May 18 which should be a conference for founding (the organization).
The Soviet Government considers the calling of such a conference inopportune. The Soviet Government considers it essential for the governments, the representatives of which are participating in the London Conference, to consider in advance the memorandum prepared at the Conference in London, and also the amendments of the Soviet delegation, after which to come to agreement on the date of calling a governmental conference which would be empowered to adopt the statutes of the European Coal Organization.
[Page 1451]The Soviet Government could not take part in the conference mentioned without consideration, in advance, of the questions referred to, in the manner proposed.
The Soviet Government considers it essential also to point out that in the event of the setting up at this conference of a European Coal Organization, its functions should be limited solely to recommendations concerning the production and distribution of coal located in the countries participating in this organization, inasmuch as German coal, being an element of reparations, should be distributed with the approval of the Allied Control Commission.
As regards the calling of a conference on May 25, 1945 for the establishment of a European Economic Committee the Soviet Government considers that it would be inappropriate to take a definite decision toward setting up a European Economic Commission in advance of a decision on the question of setting up an International Economic and Social Council and regional organizations at the conference at San Francisco.
Accept [etc]
- See telegram 3654, May 9, 6 p.m., to London, p. 1448.↩
- For documentation on the participation of the United States in the Allied Control Council for Germany, see vol. iii, pp. 820 ff.↩