740.00119 Control (Austria)/4–745: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Winant)
2825. The following telegram has been received from Patterson53 at Belgrade as no. 16 April 7, 11:27 a.m.:
“Foreign Minister handed me a lengthy note dated April 2 stating that Yugoslavia desires to participate in the military occupation of Austrian territory. Yugoslav government invites Allied Governments to negotiate with them the delimitation of a zone and modalities for its occupation and administration by Yugoslav Army (4) [for?] [Page 1315] allies, proposing a zone extending ‘north of the old Yugoslav Austrian frontier between Italy and Hungary including especially the province of Carinthia.’
Note describes Yugoslavia’s part in the war, expresses her desire to share allied post-war responsibilities and stages that Yugoslav peoples would regard this participation as recognition by the Allies of their struggles and sufferings in the Allied cause.
Foreign Minister strongly supported this request and asked me to do the same. He said the note would be handed also to British, Soviet and French Missions. Copy follows by airgram.”54
The Department believes it would be both unwise and impracticable to accede to this Yugoslav request.
It would be inappropriate to have Yugoslav forces participate in the occupation or administration of Austria in view of the expressed desire of the Yugoslav Government to acquire territory from Austria.
In view of the great length of time it has taken for most of the governments to study the proposals already circulated in EAC55 and formulate views on them, it appears now too late to begin the process anew on the basis of new five-power proposals. In a country as small as Austria five-power occupation and control would in any case be unnecessarily cumbersome.
Repeated to AmPolAd, Caserta, for Erhardt56 as Department’s no. 319, and to Moscow as Department’s no. 843.
- Richard C. Patterson, Jr., Ambassador in Yugoslavia.↩
- Airgram A-l of April 19, 1945, from Belgrade, not printed.↩
- European Advisory Commission. For documentation on negotiations in the E.A.C. regarding the zones of occupation and control machinery for Austria, see vol. iii, pp. 1 ff.↩
- John G. Erhardt, U.S. Political Adviser for Austrian Affairs.↩