740.00119 Council/3–2447: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Acting Secretary of State
974. Delsec 1339. For Acheson from Marshall. The following reports are for the personal information of the President, Vandenberg, Connally and yourself:
Mr. Dulles reports that Bidault made the following statements to him in a recent conversation:
“Bidault said that his interview with Stalin had had no significance.46 Stalin had confined himself to expressing strong disapproval of a federalized Germany and the hope that the French would not press for this. Bidault felt that Stalin wanted a central government because he felt confident the Soviets could get control of it and thus get control of all Germany. Bidault felt that no great decision about Germany would be made at Moscow and stated that any final peace terms for Germany might be a matter not merely of months but of possibly a couple of years. He said that putting the French zone in with ours would involve a major political decision as it would be interpreted by the Soviet Union as the creation of a western bloc and France was not in a position to make that decision at the present time. However, Bidault hoped that the situation might develop shortly which would permit that decision being made and he would press its study although probably no answer could be given at Moscow.”
[Here follows a brief summary of the memorandum of the Marshall–Bevin conversation of March 22, page 273, and the complete text [Page 397] of Bevin’s letter of March 23 to Marshall quoted in footnote 46 thereto.]