Office of the Historian

IO Files:US/S/56

Memorandum of Conversation, by Joseph E. Johnson 70 of the United States Delegation to the United Nations

confidential
[New York,] May 16, 1946.

Just before the Security Council meeting this morning, Mr. Stettinius expressed to Ambassador Gromyko71 his hope that Gromyko [Page 386] would be able to support the U.S. resolution on new Members. Mr. Gromyko replied that he did not understand this resolution and said that, to be specific, it seemed to him to be inconsistent with the rules proposed by the Committee of Experts (Document S/57).72 Mr. Stettinius replied that the resolution was not inconsistent but was drafted within the terms of the rules which are rather broad. Ambassador Gromyko said that, in any case, he intended to ask Mr. Stettinius some questions to clarify the matter, and Mr. Stettinius replied that he thought the questions would be answered in his introductory statement.

Gromyko did not give the impression that he was determined, at all costs, to oppose the resolution.

(N.B. This conversation took place after the one between Stein and J. E. Johnson, which is recorded in a separate memorandum.73)

[At the forty-second meeting of the Security Council on May 17 the Council adopted the additional rules of procedure recommended by the Committee of Experts in document S/57 including additions to Chapter X on the admission of new members (Rules 55, 56 and 57); Chapter X was carried by ten votes to one, the Australian Delegate dissenting (SC, 1st yr., 1st series, No. 2, pages 270 ff.). The new provisional rules were incorporated into Security Council document S/62, May 17 (SC, 1st yr., 1st series, Suppl. No. 2, pages 30 ff., annex 1e; Chapter X is found on page 38). Note should be made of subsequent changes in the Security Council’s rules of procedure so that the rules on admission of new members were renumbered to become Rules 58, 59 and 60 (ibid., pages 41 and 42).

At the same meeting of the Security Council, after an exchange between the United States Representative (Stettinius) and the Soviet Representative (Gromyko), the resolution submitted by the United States was adopted unanimously, with a minor change suggested by [Page 387] the Australian Representative (SC, 1st yr., 1st series, No. 2, pages 278 ff.).]

  1. Note may be made here of the arrival at the Delegation on May 7 of Mr. Herschel V. Johnson to take up his appointment as Deputy United States Representative on the Security Council.↩
  2. A. A. Gromyko, Soviet Representative on the Security Council.↩
  3. See footnote 68, p. 384.↩

  4. Dated May 16. It read: “Just prior to the Council meeting today, Mr. Johnson asked Mr. Stein [Soviet delegate on the Committee of Experts] if Mr. Gromyko would be able to support the U.S. resolution on new Members. Stein shook his head, smiled and then said after a pause, ‘What do you mean by “support”?’ To this Johnson replied that he hoped the Soviet at least would not vote against the U.S. resolution.

    “Stein made no further comment on this subject.” (IO Files, document US/S/55)

    ↩