840.811/2–2748
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador of the Soviet Union (Panyushkin)
The Secretary of State presents his compliments to His Excellency the Ambassador of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and has the honor to refer to the decision of the Council of Foreign Ministers of December 6, 1946, to “call within six months of the coming into force of the Peace Treaties of Rumania, Bulgaria and Hungary, a conference to work out a new convention regarding the regime of navigation of the Danube”.2
While the Government of the United States favors the calling of the conference at the earliest practicable time, it believes it inadvisable to attempt to set a definite date at this time since the question of a [Page 594] treaty with Austria has not yet been settled, and suggests that the United Kingdom, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, France and the United States agree jointly to extend to the end of 1948 the period of time during which the conference would be called.
The Secretary of State would welcome an expression of the views of the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on this matter. A similar request is being made of the Governments of the United Kingdom and France3 in order that agreement may be reached among the British, Soviet French and United States Governments before March 15, 1948.
- The complete text of this decision is in Department of State Bulletin, June 6, 1948, p. 736. For documentation on the third session of the Council of Foreign Ministers held in New York between November 4 and December 12, 1946, see Foreign Relations, 1946, vol. ii, pp. 965 ff.↩
- Neither request printed.↩