501.BC/8–2846: Telegram
The Acting Secretary of State to the United States Acting Representative at the United Nations (Johnson)
174. For Herschel Johnson. We have received information that Greece may urge postponement of SC consideration of Ukrainian communication of August 20 and will request US support of their position.
Our view is that, as a general rule, SC should permit adequate time for a nation complained against before SC to prepare its case and to transport its representatives to participate in SC discussion. This general rule would be subject to Council consideration of representations by complaining member urging prompter treatment. In Iranian case in March 1946 Secretary took strong position that Council should not decide to postpone consideration of case until it had had opportunity to hear Iran as complaining nation state its views on advisability of postponement. We do not wish to take position on Ukrainian complaint inconsistent with that taken in Iranian case.
Accordingly, our position on postponement of Greek case should be that we have no objection to granting their request for postponement for reasonable time if Ukrainian representative himself offers no objection but that we will not support postponement if Ukrainian objects until Council has had opportunity to hear his views on postponement issue.61
- The United Kingdom considered it important that the Ukrainian case not be considered until after September 3, the date of the plebiscite (telegram 7796, August 27, 1946, 4 p.m., from London, 868.00/8–2746). Mr. Acheson directed that Mr. Johnson be informed of the British position and of the United States view that it would be helpful if the case were not considered until the following week. An assistant of Mr. Johnson was so informed by Mr. Hiss on August 28 (memorandum of conversation, 501.BC/8–2746). Later the same day, the Department received instructions from Mr. Byrnes to support British efforts to postpone discussion of the case (telegram 4303, August 28, 5 p.m., from Paris, 868.00/8–2846). The Security Council, at its fifty-ninth session on September 3, admitted the Ukrainian complaint to its agenda by a vote of 7 to 2, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands opposing and Australia and Brazil abstaining.↩