840.20/11–2748
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Chief of the Division of Western European Affairs (Achilles)
| Participants: | F. R. Hoyer Millar, Minister, British Embassy |
| T. C. Achilles, Chief, WE |
Mr. Hoyer Millar called to read me a telegram received this morning from the Foreign Office stating that the Permanent Commission had yesterday readied general agreement on a “draft” of the North Atlantic Treaty to be used “as a basis for discussion”. The draft was to be sent to the British Embassy here by pouch. Certain minor differences of opinion would be reflected in the instructions sent to the five Ambassadors separately by their Governments. The Foreign Office thought those instructions should be received within a week. The Foreign Office believed that the seven Governments represented in the talks should reach “firm but not final” agreement on the text before consulting other governments.
I told Mr. Hoyer Millar that any attempt to draft a text at this time seemed premature. As soon as we had obtained the views of the Brussels Treaty Governments we would wish to consult a number of Senators and Congressmen on the broad outlines of the Treaty but we certainly did not want to have any text in our hands when we did. I also said it would be unfortunate to confront other North Atlantic governments with a text when we took preliminary soundings with them. Those governments would presumably wish either to participate substantively in drafting a text or to wait until the US had ratified before taking a decision. I did not think they would like an in-between approach of being given a text on a take it or leave it basis. I also told him that we envisaged a minimum of three months between the resumption of exploratory talks and submission of a treaty to the Senate, if one were concluded. The next round of exploratory talks would take at least two weeks, the Congressional soundings at least that long, soundings with other governments at least that long and probably six weeks to draft a treaty either in a formal conference or in some expansion of the talks here. We would be gratified if some way could be found of proceeding more quickly but we did not see any means of doing so.
He indicated general agreement with the foregoing and said he would telegraph it to the Foreign Office.