740.00119 Control (Austria)/1–1146: Telegram
The Counselor of Mission in the Office of the United States Political Adviser for Austria ( Gray ) to the Secretary of State
[Received January 14—1:53 p.m.]
37. General Clark has not yet received the JCS instructions forecast in Department’s 18, January 5, to press in Allied Council for reduction of occupation troops. He will of course carry out instructions when received but he has misgivings for the following reasons, in which I agree:
Our experience here has shown very definitely that Marshal Koniev14 and other Soviet members of Allied Commission are prepared to discuss with US matters which they consider within scope of Allied Commission but refuse absolutely to discuss here matters which they consider within purview of the respective govts of occupying powers rather than Allied Commission. The latter include such matters as (a) constitution of Allied Commission as determined by intergovernmental agreement, (b) size of occupation forces, (c) military expenditures and (d) interpretation of Potsdam Agreement regarding German foreign assets.
This attitude has already been made explicitly clear in our previous discussion of these matters with Soviets.
Both General Clark and I feel certain that the only productive approach to reduction of troops would be on governmental level. We understood from War’s 86274, Dec 2, that this was being done. Has it now been done either through diplomatic channels to Moscow or at the Moscow Conference?
- Ivan Stepanovich Konev, Marshal of the Soviet Union, Commander of Russian Occupation Forces in Austria.↩