740.0011 PW (Peace)/8–1347
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Counselor of the Department (Bohlen)
| Participants: | Mr. Semen K. Tsarapkin, Soviet Chargé d’Affaires ad interim; |
| Mr. Llewellyn E. Thompson, Chief, Eastern European Affairs; and | |
| Mr. Charles E. Bohlen, Counselor. |
I handed Mr. Tsarapkin, Soviet Chargé d’Affaires, the aide-mémoire28 in answer to the Soviet aide-mémoire of July 2228a regarding the preparation of a Japanese peace treaty. I outlined the contents to him and asked if he had any questions.
Mr. Tsarapkin repeated the arguments contained in the Soviet aide-mémoire of July 22 emphasizing particularly that the Moscow Agreement of 1945 setting up the Far Eastern Commission provided for a special position in regard to voting for the U.S., the U.K., the Soviet Union and China.
I told him that the present subject was the procedure for the drawing up of the peace treaty with Japan and, therefore, dealt with the future whereas the Far Eastern Commission was set up to deal with questions and policies arising in connection with the military occupation of Japan.
I told him that we had been somewhat puzzled as to the reference to the Cairo Declaration, Yalta decisions, and the Potsdam declarations since these documents did not deal with the manner of drawing [Page 492] up the Japanese peace treaty which had been the purpose of our original approach. However, as to these agreements and declarations in question, they of course remained valid as far as this Government was concerned and I had no reason to doubt the other countries who had signed them.
Mr. Tsarapkin replied that the reference to the declarations of Cairo, Potsdam, and the Yalta decisions were merely to indicate the responsibility of the four Governments in question in the matter of winning the war with Japan and, therefore, by analogy for the peace treaty. He said he would transmit our aide-mémoire to his Government and inform us of his reply.