CFM Files
United States Delegation Memorandum of Conversation43
| Participants: | The Secretary |
| The Italian Prime Minister, Signor de Gasperi | |
| The Italian Ambassador to the United States, Signor Tarchiani | |
| Mr. J. Wesley Jones |
The Secretary received the Italian Prime Minister this morning at 9:30. He was accompanied by Ambassador Tarchiani, Signor de Gasperi, [Page 268] who is returning to Rome tomorrow, called to say good-bye.
The Prime Minister expressed anxiety over the internal political situation in Italy, referring to the violent attacks against him in the Communist press during the past ten days and to newspaper reports of a possible crisis in the Italian Government. He said that it would be useful for him to know, in reporting to the other Ministers in the Government, one, the probable duration of the Conference and two, the chances of Italy’s success in obtaining amelioration of some of the clauses of the draft treaty. The Secretary replied that he could actually give him very little indication of the outcome of the Conference as far as changing in Italy’s favor the present clauses of the draft treaty. He would suggest, however, that the Prime Minister make his fight on every point on which the Italians desired improvement; that this was the purpose of the Peace Conference; and that any recommendations in Italy’s favor which the Italians could succeed in obtaining from the Conference would make it that much easier for the Secretary to obtain a better treaty for Italy in its final drafting in the Foreign Ministers Council.
Signor de Gasperi referred to his last conversation with the Secretary44 and to the great importance which the Italian Delegation attached to enlarging the Free Territory of Trieste to include the west coast of Istria and Pola. He said that he had tried to establish direct contact with the Yugoslav Delegation here in Paris; that he had sent Ambassador Reale (Italian Ambassador to Warsaw and a member of the Communist Party) to see the Yugoslav Foreign Minister here; that the latter had refused to see de Gasperi until after the question of the Free Territory of Trieste had been settled; and that he refused in any event to consider the extension of the Free Territory but expressed the view rather that he wished to restrict it further.
When the Prime Minister emphasized the necessity of a good Statute for Trieste, guaranteeing its integrity and independence, the Secretary indicated that he anticipated difficulty with the Yugoslavs and the Soviets over the Statute and said that he intended to follow this phase of the Italian Treaty very closely, recognizing its importance. He referred to our present difficulties with the Yugoslav Government and the stand which we were taking as a result of the recent outrageous attack by the Yugoslavs against unarmed American transport planes.45
The Secretary referred to an earlier Italian request that the limitations on their armed forces and frontier defences be reviewed after five or ten years. He pointed out that a provision for review of these clauses was actually contained in the first Article under the Military, [Page 269] Naval, and Air Clauses; that is, that they can be modified by agreement between the Security Council and Italy after Italy becomes a member of the United Nations. The Secretary suggested Signor de Gasperi read that Article again carefully, expressing the opinion that it adequately met his request.
Ambassador Tarchiani asked the Secretary’s sympathetic consideration of the Italian request that Italy not be required to renounce her rights and title to the Italian colonies in Africa but that the status quo remain for a year. (In other words, that the first paragraph of Article 17 be eliminated from the draft treaty.) Ambassador Tarchiani said that the French would agree and that he thought the British were also coming around to that viewpoint. The Secretary said that he was entirely agreeable to the omission of the Italian renunciation clause with respect to the colonies at this time and that he would speak to Mr. Bevin on behalf of the Italians.
The Secretary again emphasized that the Italian Delegation should take every opportunity to get their views before the various Commissions of the Conference and mate every effort to secure favorable recommendations from the Conference to the Council of Foreign Ministers on the various Articles of the draft treaty which the Italians wished to see modified.