CFM Files
United States Delegation Journal
USDel (PC) (Journal) 71
The final meeting of the Paris Conference was held in Plenary Session at the Luxembourg Palace this afternoon. The Chinese Delegate, Dr. Quo, presided. The Chairman announced the receipt of a communication from the Yugoslav Delegation saying that it was unable to participate in the final session of the Conference. He said that a copy of the communication would be circulated to members of the Conference.
The Conference approved tables of the record of its recommendations on the draft peace treaties of Italy, Rumana, Bulgaria, Hungary and Finland. The Secretariat was charged with revising and adopting definitive draft texts before the end of the week. These final texts will then be submitted by the Secretary General to the Council of Foreign Ministers together with the record of votes and written observations of Delegates on particular ballots.
Mr. Byrnes asked for recognition to say a few words and offer two resolutions: (1) an expression of thanks to the Secretariat and staff of the Conference and (2) an expression of appreciation to M. Bidault and the French Government for their country’s hospitality. The Secretary continued by emphasizing the participation in the Conference of the nations not members of the Council of Foreign Ministers, [Page 860] as well as representatives of the ex-enemy countries, and the valuable contribution which they had brought to the drafting of the treaties. This contribution, he said, had fully justified the position of the United States in urging, since September 1945, that this Conference be held. The Secretary continued that, as no one state had won the war so, no one nation had the power to dictate the peace. He concluded by reiterating a statement made in the first week of the Conference that he would do all that he could to secure the incorporation of recommendations, which received a vote of two-thirds of the states represented in the Conference, in the treaties regardless of how the United States had voted on that recommendation in the Conference. (For full text of the Secretary’s remarks, see USD(PC) (PR)–43).54
M. Molotov associated the Soviet Delegation with the resolution of thanks and appreciation to the Secretariat and the French Government. As the Soviets had made a contribution to the winning of the war, recognized by all her Allies, so the Soviet Government would continue to work for peace and fight for the objectives which it considers will establish a democratic peace, he said.55
Mr. Bevin supported the Secretary’s resolutions and expressed his keen pleasure at the opportunity of attending a peace conference in France and observing at first hand the resurrection of the French nation in the immediate post-war period after years of occupation by the enemy. He spoke of the heavy responsibility on all persons engaged in peace making which he described as the task of legislating for future generations. He concluded with an expression of hope that the Conference has contributed to the construction of a peace which will never again be broken.
The Chairman associated the Chinese Delegation with the expressions of thanks to the Secretariat and the French Government and emphasized the gratitude of the Conference for the hospitality of France and of Paris. The two resolutions submitted by the Secretary were then adopted. Dr. Quo said that it was fitting that for the closing of the Conference the President of the French Government should preside. He asked M. Bidault to come to the rostrum and take the Chair.
M. Bidault thanked Dr. Quo and the Delegates for their generous words about France. He also thanked the Conference for having chosen Paris as a meeting place and making it for the past 2½ months [Page 861] the political center of the world. In speaking of the procedure of the Conference he referred to the parliamentary system which had been followed and the complete publicity which had been given to its meetings. While he approved of this “daring” procedure he felt that it had slowed up the work of the Conference particularly in the early phases. He also referred to the lack of uniformity among the various Delegations in preparation for the Conference and suggested that this defect should receive serious consideration before the peace conferences for Germany and Japan. He felt that it had been difficult to prepare peace treaties for the satellite countries before the main lines of settlement with Germany had been laid down. Frankness, he continued, had dominated the discussions of the Conference and the world was not unaware of the differences of which had been revealed during its course. He concluded with an expression of hope that the consciousness of these facts would lead the nations to action rather than words in the establishment of a solid and enduring peace.
The Secretary of State reported on the Paris Peace Conference in a radio address delivered in Washington October 18, 1946; for text, see ibid., p. 739.
M. Bidault announced the closing of the Paris Conference at 5:30 p.m.