501.BC/9–1946: Telegram
The United States Acting Representative at the United Nations (Johnson) to the Secretary of State
us urgent
[Received September 19—6 p.m.]
584. In a frank discussion with Gromyko today he stated that he would veto our proposal for a commission. He said that under the Ukrainian complaint there was no basis for including the Bulgarian and Yugoslavian frontiers within the scope of the commission’s investigation. He said further that if the scope of the investigation were [Page 221] limited to the Albanian frontier he would still veto the proposal on the ground that it attached unwarranted blame on Albania and omitted the fundamental point that it was the presence of British troops in Greece which was the aggravating source of the situation.
He said further that he would vote against the Australian motion and argue that it is a substantive motion and therefore his negative vote amounts to a veto. He indicated, however, that a straightforward motion to drop the Ukrainian complaint from the matters of which the Council is seized would be procedural.
He asked me if I would support a resolution keeping the Council seized of the Ukrainian complaint. I told him for bargaining purposes that the US would not support it on the ground that such a decision would leave on the Council’s agenda the accusations against Greece and UK which we reject.
[The Security Council considered the Ukrainian complaint against Greece at fourteen meetings from August 28 to September 20. Various proposals and resolutions were submitted to the Council. The United States on September 20 called on the Council to appoint a three-man commission which would investigate the facts relating to the incidents along the Greek frontiers with Albania, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia and would submit to the Council as soon as practicable a report on the facts disclosed by its investigation. The resolution received eight affirmative votes. The Soviet Union and Poland voted in the negative and Australia abstained. The resolution was vetoed as a result of the negative vote of the Soviet Union.
The representative of Australia stated that a formal decision by the Council was necessary in order to remove the item from its agenda and pressed for a vote on his resolution calling for the Council to pass to the next item on the agenda. Mr. Gromyko, as President of the Council, ruled that there was no need to vote on the Australian resolution, declaring that the Council was ready to pass on to the next item on the agenda. The Secretary General gave his opinion that if the Council followed the ruling of the President, the Council would no longer be seized with the case and it would automatically be taken off the agenda. The ruling was not challenged.
For Council discussion of the Ukrainian complaint, see United Nations, Official Records of the Security Council, First Year, Second Series, Nos. 4–16, pages 33–422, passim. The text of the United States resolution is printed ibid., page 396. The United Nations has published an account of the Council’s discussions in Yearbook of the United Nations, 1946–47, pages 351–360.]